Finn the hybrid
by BraveBraveSirRobin
Summary: please read the one-shot story Revenge For Fire Kingdom to understand this untold story that explains what Finn and Jake and others did in the six years that they were gone please write honest reviews full of constructive or destructive critisism, approval or disapproval, I do not own adventure time or any of the characters mentioned, this is a fan made story period, Enjoy
1. Broken Hero

Finn pushed Princess Bubblegum out of his house after he yelled at her for killing Flame Princess in cold blood by purposely tripping on her dress and throwing a chemical at her face. He stormed over to the couch and sat, ten minutes passed and his blistering fury calmed and had been replaced by a overwhelming ocean of tears and sorrow _why wont she leave me alone?! _he thought in his head as her words pounded around his brain "Sometimes people do stupid things for love" _I did love her_ "Dont be a moron Finn! I did this for us!" _there never was an us __when I moved on she killed the only thing I cared about more than fighting evil...Flame...Why does she keep hurting me? Why wont she leave me be? _Finn continued to cry until he fell to his side and clutched his heart until his fingertips turned purple he didn't care about the pain the only thing he cared about was the bag of his loved one's ashes that he held firmly in his other hand

an hour went by and Finn had fallen asleep with the bag of ashes pressed against his chest. Jake came down and looked out of the kitchen window and stared at the orange sunset then looked over at his best bro and saw him smiling _at least you have your dreams about her to keep you company _he thought then an idea that just might work popped into his head

"pst! B.M.O.! Get Marceline on the phone!" Jake whispered to him as chills ran up his spine from thinking about vampires, B.M.O. ran up to him and said "In land of Ooo B.M.O. is phone!" "Enough with the dumb jokes! Is she on or not!" he snapped at him "Just trying to brighten the mood" he responded in an apologetic voice "and yes you can talk whenever."

"Hello?"

"Hey Marceline listen, im just going to get straight to the point Finn has a serious problem and could use our help."

"What's wrong with him? she asked while moving her holographic head over to the couch "Wait has he been crying?! What's going on?!" Jake explained "Do you remember Flame Princess?" "Yeah her and Finn made the cutest couple, why did she dump him or something?"

"Try, Finn went to Bubblegum and asked her to cure Flame's emotional condition and instead trips on her dress on purpose and throws a chemical at her face that kills her!" Jake exclaimed his voice full of bitterness

"WHAT!" Marceline cut the line "Hello? Hey Marc are you still there? Hello? Hello?"

Marceline picked up her family axe (which is now her base guitar) and flew out the window of her room outside the mouth of her cave and towards the candy kingdom, flying faster than she had ever before in her thousand-year old life, soaring past the snow topped mountains and her old treehouse that Finn and Jake now lived in past the grass hills until she slammed through one of the princess's stained glass windows that was in her throne room, landing on her red and golden carpet she stood up brushed the glass and blood off of her and stormed down the row "YOU!" she shouted as she continued to walk up to bubblegum who was sipping on a hot cup of tea unfazed by Marceline's intrusion

"HOW DARE YOU DO THAT TO AN INNOCENT COUPLE!" she yelled while smacking the tea-cup out of PB's hand "I don't know what you're talking about!" she replied in annoyance

"BULL! I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT YOU DID TO FLAME PRINCESS!"

"Oh for crying out loud what's the big deal! It's not like Finn actually loved her, besides she was a danger to the world!" Bubblegum pointed out in a matter of fact tone

"FINN DID LOVE HER AND KILLING HER WAS WRONG!"

"HEY DID NOT LOVE HER, HE LOVES ME! HE TOLD ME WHEN I TOLD HIM TO STOP SEEING FLAME, I CALLED HIM MY HERO!"

"YOU'RE NOT THAT SMART FOR A SCIENTIST ARE YOU? IF HE LOVED YOU THEN WHY DID HE SHOUT AT YOU RIGHT AFTER YOU SAID THAT AND BESIDES HE KISSED HER ANYWAY!" Marceline said in a mocking matter of fact tone

"OH MY GLOB DRAMABLEM!" Lumpy Space Princess exclaimed as she came out of the bathroom

"STAY OUT OF THIS LSP!" they both snapped at her, she awkwardly went back into the bathroom and shut the door

"KILLING HER SAVED A LOT OF INNOCENT LIVES!" Bubblegum stated and crossed her arms glaring at the older than dirt vampire

"THERE HAD TO BE A BETTER WAY!"

"Bite me!" she taunted while rolling her eye's

"YOU'D LIKE THAT WOULDNT YOU! YEAH I KNOW YOU WANT TO BE IMMORTAL, HOW ABOUT I JUST KILL YOU INSTEAD!" Marceline drew her axe and was about ready to swing at the princess who had a bored look on her face when she said "Think about all the candy people who would panic at the site of their dead ruler." while pointing behind her at the entrance.

Marceline turned around and saw the entire candy kingdom's citizens all looking at her, children with sad and worried faces, parents holding them with looks of shock and disgust, guards glaring at her, others like peppermint butler and cinnamon bun looking at her with curious and judgemental faces. She looked at Bubblegum hard then hissed at her with her split tongue shooting out and rammed through another window flying off towards Finn while hearing the princess telling her subjects that "all is well"

"Hello?" Marceline heard Jake's voice as she walked in

"Um, Jake I don't think she's on the line anymore." B.M.O. interrupted

"oh yeah and whys that?"

"because she's right behind you" Jake spun round and jumped at the site of her enraged face

"You made it, good! Listen ive got a plan for Finn it might work if we-"

"hows he holding up?" she said ignoring Jake's last comment as her expression softened when she saw Finn sleeping the night away

"It's not good, his heart's broken I never thought Id see him worse than before he meet FP but somehow..." His sad voice trailed off "he's a..."

"Broken Hero." Marceline finished for him


	2. Her fire is in my heart

the sun rose and Finn woke up realizing his head was on Marceline's lap he looked up and saw her smiling at him "Good morning Finn, you fell off the couch so I sat you back down and you fell back asleep " he stared at her "Hi Marceline" his voice full of sorrow as a new wave of tears slid down his cheek's "Sorry im not in a better mood." "Dont be, me and jake are going to help you through this, now come on sit up." she told him in a soft and encouraging tone helping him sit up straight, jake came in with a plate of eggs and orange juice sat it on finn's lap and turned on the tv "First we want you to talk with Billy" "Billy..." Finn said the name with respect that anyone could tell even through his hurt voice and tears "yeah he's got a camera for chronicling his adventures and informing the next generation about enemy's and what true courage is all about." "I don't need him to see me this weak" he protested "True but you need to see what he's doing right now." "bu-" "no buts except your's in that couch!"

Billy showed up on the tv screen fighting skeletons in what looked like a toxic wasteland, swinging his sword at three of them and slicing off there heads "now you see unarmored skeletons can be brought down with any weapon however that giant one with the breastplate on will require a war hammer to bring down!" he pointed to it "unless you know how to strip it of its armor, observe as I cut it down the center of his back!" Billy charged after his foe and rolled in-between its legs until he was facing the back of his armor then he stabbed it in the center, it fell and Billy swung his sword at the skeletons knee caps then his chest and finally slammed his foot on its skull crushing it into a hundred pieces

"It's good to see you again Finn!" he panted as another skeleton jumped up on his back and tried to bite him he flipped it over his head and punched its skull with his new spiked gauntlet that had an even larger eye on the palm of the hand it was a red-eye that shot at least twice as much energy as the last one (Which the lich destroyed) "I heard your girlfriend passed away the other day, you have my sincere apologies... I see you have your family sword, me and your father both fought the demon that the sword was forged from, he got the blood and i took a part of its soul" Billy told him trying to get Finn's mind off of FP

"you knew dad?"Finn asked curiously while trying to dry his eyes but to no success, he sighed and tried to eat his breakfast but couldn't get it up to his mouth until Marceline grabbed the fork and helped feed it to him, Finn had never seen her act so nice before today _sweet and deadly just like flame _he thought and took what comfort it offered

"yeah we had some crazy adventures of our own back in my day-" suddenly an agonizing roar blew out of the speakers of the tv Billy looked up and saw an enormous skeleton of a dragon that had a green glow in its eye sockets that matched the lich's dead eyes "Fear not for it is just one of the lich's pet dragons the weakest of three this ones name is agony! Finn and jake watch what your words have inspired me to do!" Billy shot his gauntlet's beam at it but missed as the dragon outmaneuvered the blasts it swooped down and slapped billy with its barbed bone tail the camera flew out of his hand as he fell against the side of a toxic pool he got up and grabbed his sword charged after the dragon and jumped on its back cut down its wings before it took flight again, the camera went to static as they heard another roar this one filled with pain from the dragon

"so what do you think!" Jake exclaimed "Do you feel any better knowing that our childhood hero is back in action thanks to your words, and who would have thought that he and dad were friends!"

"Yeah" Finn lied "it looked like he was in a bad situation though" still not being able to eat without Marceline helping guide his fork to his mouth

"Are you kidding me he was kicking that Lich dragons ass! Did you see the way he cut off its wings!"

Finn sighed "listen I appreciate what you guys are trying to do but I don't want to hear it right now"he stared at the ashes and bearly sipped his juice

"What's wrong with him you guys?" the ice king asked from the open window in the living room

"he's depressed because Flame Princess passed away- WAIT! Ice king get out of here!" Jake demanded as he came in and went over to Finn, Jake stretched his arms in-between the ice king and gripped the sides of the window and walked backwards

"I know how you feel Finn."

"no you don't" he groaned

"Yes I do, unless she was a fat and ugly princess then I guess I wouldn't know."he said casually, Finn jumped up knocking down his plate of food, grabbed a nearby dagger (not wanting to give him the dignity of dyeing by his family sword) and was about to stab the ice king when Jake jumped put his feet up and kicked the ice king in the face at high-speed he flew out of the window and hit the ground outside while Finn tried to shot him with a crossbow the ice king jumped up and flew off shouting in a scared voice "Ok, Ok I don't know how you feel just stop hurting me!I was only wondering what Marceline was doing at the candy kingdom last night!"

"ILL KILL YOU IF I EVER SEE YOU AGAIN" Finn shouted out after him

Marceline giggled "That had to cheer you up a little"

"Actually...Yeah it felt kinda good to get that out!" he smiled for a split second then sat back down and tried again to dry his eyes but as before failed "You went to the candy kingdom last night?"

"Yeah, me and Bonnibel got in an argument"

"really what did she say?" even though he had a pretty good idea

"she thinks she did the right thing and says you love her" Marceline told him in disgust

"that sound's like her, im guessing you were about ready to kill her?" shocked by how well he knew her and PB she replied "Yeah but all the candy people were there and I couldn't do that to them."

"If I ever get better im going to get my revenge on her, I mean she's not a good person look at what she did before FP, she kept paralyzing potion next to her tarts, she wanted to throw the duke of nuts in jail for a medical condition, she wanted to beat the living hell out of the ice king for accidentally making the candy people sick, and she imprisoned Flame, all of her methods are to extreme some are understandable but most are unnecessary."

"I think she only wanted to cure the dead candy people so she herself could never die, that's just my opinion don't pay too much attention to it" Marceline added

Jake saw the frown deepen on Finn's face and said "B.M.O. come here."

"Yes jake?"

"Put a video game on for Finn."

"but last time-" he started

"Just do it!" B.M.O. put on his dirt bike game for Finn, but instead of playing it he groaned and started to sing with the rhythm of the game

**"I can't keep pushing this down any deeper,**

**why do I keep trying if she wont let me keep her,**

**every move I made was just another mistake and she paid,**

**I wonder what it would take,**

**because it feels like that hole is back in my body,**

**like that hole is inside my heart,**

**its like this feeling is gonna consume me,**

**cause this thing will never stop,**

**oh I feel like im all iced up inside,**

**its like im all iced up inside,**

**its like im all iced up insiiide**

Marceline glared at Jake and whispered "That better have been part of your plan." "follow me" he waved his arm at her to follow him up to the roof "What was that for!" she shouted at him "We needed to know what he specifically felt bad about the lyrics told it all, he can't keep going on like this, PB wont let him be with FP, when he went to PB he feels like it was his fault and FP paid for his mistake, he wonders what its gonna take for PB to get it through her head that him and her are not a couple, without Flame he feels alone in the world, he's ready to give up his life, his sorrow wont go away, he feels cold without flame princesses warmth"

"You figured that all out just from the lyrics?"

"It helps when things are obvious."

"so now what do we do?" Marceline asked

"now we need to find the monster that my dad put at the end of his dungeon"

"You mean the giant one that Finn threw in a gaping hole? Did it by chance have an orange eye that looks like a crystal..." Marceline asked in a concerned voice and stared at the horizon as heavy rain poured down and strong winds blew the sky turned as dark as night

"Yeah, wait how did you know that?!" the big umbrella that stood on the roof flew off as the wind blew even harder he looked over to where she was staring and saw the blue skinned monster with sharp yellow fingernails and a key around its wrist all behind it was a massive blob with spikes jutting up everywhere _that must be its back _he thought as he also noticed it was crawling towards them smiling showing its millions of sharp teeth

"Look on its left and right!" Marceline shouted as thunder and lightning came down Ice king and Scorcher the hitman followed by an army of wicked looking goblins all carrying heat-seeking rockets where by the monster's side

She gulped and asked "Is this part of your plan?" in a worried voice "n-not really" Jake responded as gut renching terror filled his body

"Get Finn and run." she told him in a calm voice "Why? what are you gonna do?"

"Buy you guys enough time to get to safety."

"WHAT! NO WAY!" Jake refused

"DO AS I SAY JAKE!" Marceline hissed at him with the scariest face she could make

"THAT WONT WORK ON ME ANYMORE! THE THREE OF US ARE IN THIS THING TOGETHER!" he ran down to Finn "Dude get up an-" Scorcher crashed through the ceiling with Marceline swinging her axe at him Finn got up and watched them trying as hard as he could to stop crying and for the first time since FP died he did, Scorcher wrapped an arm around Marceline's neck and shouted at Finn in a soft but loud voice full of hatred "YOU LET MY SISTER DIE!"ignoring Marceline's gasps for air as she kept elbowing him in the stomach

Shocked Finn drew his sword and charged after him saying aloud "I didn't mean to!" while stabbing him in his left arm forcing Scorcher to let go of Marceline Finn yanked his blade back as the monster swatted down the treehouse debris and rubble crashed down on top of them

"Wait for the right moment to fire!" the ice king shouted to the goblins as the storm progressively got worse by the minute.

Marceline transformed into a gargoyle and pushed the crushed down house off of her, Finn and Jake _NO! _she thought as she looked at Finn and saw that he got hit by the worst of it a large jagged piece of wood had impaled the left side of his stomach, they all had cuts and broken bones, Jake was holding on to his guitar but could not move, she pulled the spike of wood out of Finn. Lightning struck right next to her

"You!" the ice king said to a goblin "Shoot her!"

"Yes sir!" the goblin aimed his rocket at the back of Marceline's head and fired, it hit dead on even through the dark and knocked her out meanwhile Scorcher burned his way through the wood and metal and walked over to Finn.

Finn opened his eyes and hoped the monster would crush or eat him thinking about the one kiss he and Flame Princess shared and how pointless life seemed to him now that she was gone he closed his eyes and thought about the end, the end of his life, the end of his adventures and the end of Flame Princess, Scorcher was almost to him, Jake was trying to get up _COME ON! LADY RAINICORN IS COUNTING ON YOU TO BE THERE FOR HER AND YOUR CHILD! FINN I KNOW YOU CAN DO THIS NOW GET UP!_, Scorcher slammed his foot on Finn's wound, the pain had now tripled and all he wanted to do was let go, the monster's fist was overshadowing him and he knew his time in the world was over.

Finn opened his eye's again and saw endless darkness _is this the storm? No it can't be, maybe death? but then where is everyone else?_ he walked on and saw a tiny flicker of light _Flame! _was his gut reaction as he sprinted over to it the spark grew bigger and bigger until he could make out the form of his loved one he didn't stop until he was face to face with her "Flame Princess..." he started then began to cry "Dont you dare pull that crap on me!" she scolded "I know your mad at me for getting you killed-" she ignited her fury and said "im not mad at you for that it's not your fault, im mad because your acting like a crybaby!" "its normal for people to grieve the loved ones they lost" "But Finn you're not normal you're a hero" she grabbed his hands (without burning him)as her eyes started to get misty "You're a hero Finn **my hero" **something clicked inside him as he stared at her then kissed her "take my fire let it enhance your battle skills" "will I ever see you again?" he asked desperately "I promise we will meet again" she began to fade back into the darkness "Oh, and say hi to my brother for me!" she shouted as Finn began to see light all around him.

Finn opened his eyes again this time he was determined to live, and with a voice full of confidence said "guess what Scorcher."

"any last words?!"

"Yeah... Flame Princess says hi!" Finn swung his sword at his foot and chopped it off hot blood splattered all over Finn, then he stood and taunted the ice king "I bet you can't shoot your ice beams at me from here!" "What no one tells me where i cant shoot!" he shot a beam at Finn who angled his sword so the ice ricocheted and froze Scorcher "Jake play that guitar!"

"Ok man" he grunted and began to play the same music he did in the Fire Kingdom, ignoring his body's protest to stop moving

**Oh Flame Princess I thought you were rad **Finn sang as he dodged the monsters fist that missed scorcher by inches and stabbed his sword into the top of its hand, Marceline got up and watched

**I still wanna kiss you right in front of your dad **the monster lifted its arm with Finn holding on to his sword he used his other hand to try and smack Finn but he jumped over to its other hand and climbed up top to its wrist, the monster slammed its hand into the sword and made it go in even deeper

**because I still think your great** Finn took the key dangling from its arm and jammed it into its wrist, rain came down even harder and the wind threatened to knock Finn down to the ground

**I would have been your mate **the ice king moved closer to Finn and he jumped on his back and grabbed his beard "Do you smell something burning?" then he realized it was Finn's skin it felt hot to the touch

**and maybe gone on a date **the ice king howled in pain "ouch! that FIRE is hot!" a goblin below said "wait I think he said Fire!" as they all shot at Finn, Scorcher was thawing himself out admitting that the boy had skill even if he hated him he might not be able to beat him, the rain did not ease up any and things were still pitch black

**Cause it feels like your fire is in my body **all the rockets closed in on him as he steered the ice king towards the monsters back dodging the spikes by using the light that the rockets provided, _Her fire is in his body? did he have a vision of her? _He thought while slowly breaking free

**like your fire is inside my heart **rocket after rocket hit the monster slowly killing it, Jake watched in awe still ignoring his aches and pains and playing to the best of his ability

**its like your fire is gonna consume me **the ice king yelled "Will you just shut up!" "No!" Finn exclaimed and slapped him on the face leaving a nice burn mark to scar him, the rain would have eased his pain had it not been whipping him while he was flying

**If I keep waiting for this thing to stop **the monster groaned and fell to its side as the last of the rockets hit him, Marceline rubbed the back of her head where a burn wound (that would have killed a lesser being) was healing at an accelerated rate, Jake recovered a little of his strength too, and Scorcher was near ready to break free

**Oh I feel like im all warmed up inside **Finn jumped off of the ice king and landed on the monsters head, Marceline flew up and twisted ice king's arm behind his back pinning him down to where he couldn't use his ice powers, more lightning struke even closer to all of them now

**I feel all warmed up inside **he ran down its arm and jerked his sword out of its hand then ran back up to its head cutting it along the way, black acid-like blood helped paint Finn a different color until he was drenched in it, "I think im gonna be sick!" the ice king said looking like he was ready to puke "Not on me your not!" Marceline protested as she continued to hold him down

**I feel all warmed up insiiide **he finished as he stabbed it in the eye, jagged crystals flew in every direction but he wanted to make sure this thing stayed dead, slicing open its head he gulped and jumped inside it and cut everything that was not in his sight finally he crawled out of its mouth, jake managed to get up and said in a shocked voice "Dude you should like put a band-aid on that or something!" pointing at a hole in Finn's stomach

he looked down and saw what jake was talking about indeed there was a hole in his body and it got worse by the second from the monster's blood, smoke started to build up around them as they noticed Scorcher burned down what was left of there home Finn tried to go after him but passed out as all around him turned black again


	3. AT with Finn and Scorcher

Princess bubblegum was at the hospital's waiting room with Jake, Marceline who was bound up in chains, and peppermint butler they all had worried faces as they waited for word on Lady rainicorn, Jake was especially worried _What if she has a stillborn? What if she dies giving birth? What if I fail as a parent? What if the baby is born with a disability? What if something happens that causes us to split up? I wish Finn were here he would make this at least a little easier on all of us! _Jake started to whimper to himself as a million more questions formed in his mind.

Marceline was thinking about what happened last time she saw Finn and how she landed imprisonment after the suicide battle at her now destroyed treehouse _Finn killed the monster, all the goblins ran away after they found out there was no more weapons, Scorcher burned down what was left of the house and smoke overtook me, Jake, and ice king, when the smoke cleared Scorcher and Finn were both gone, I turned ice king over to Bonnibel and she said some bullshit about me being a threat to her kingdom then had me arrested, but her and I both know there's more to that attack, it had to be an inside job, im going to find out the truth and when the time is right im going to walk right out the front door._

princess bubblegum thought about the argument her and Finn had before he went missing, she felt terrible, _oh Finn im so sorry for yelling at you its been nine months and you're the only thing on my mind, its safe to say that Marceline had something to do with your disappearance but im not dumb enough to tell her that, the attack on your home must have been ordered by the fire king for what happened to his daughter but how did he find you? My guess is Marceline but whats her angle? I'll find you and figure out how this happened! I promise!_

Peppermint butler tried again to run the events that took place nine months ago through his head _It doesn't make any sense! Flame princess was murdered by my perfect princess she must have done something bad for the princess to actually kill her but then Marceline crashes through a window and threatens to kill the Princess for killing flame what would she care who the princess kills? then Finn goes missing and the prime suspect is Marceline, why would she kidnap Finn if she was willing to kill for flame princess after all Finn and flame were dating, it just doesn't add up!_

Doctor princess came into the waiting room with a smile on her face and cleared her throat, everyone snapped to attention as Jake asked in a worried voice "Are they gonna be okay!?"

"relax, Lady rainicorn is fine and so is the baby." she told him in a soothing voice "right this way." she jestered at all of them to follow her down the hallway and to the operating room Marceline's chains clanking together along the way "she's in here." the doctor whispered as they all entered the room.

Jake walked over to the bed and looked at her then over to the small bundle of blankets in her hands there he saw the tiny rainbow-colored pup with a horn on its forehead and immediately noticed that it was a girl suddenly her color changed to a solid orange a bit lighter than Jake's fur and then back again to a rainbow, a single tear slid down his face as he smiled at rainicorn and said "Well, what should we name her?"

She moved her head over to Jake's ear and whispered something that the others could not hear then laid her head back and closed her eyes smiling "I think its perfect." he told her while picking the baby up.

"Well everybody...Say hello to Jane the dog!" everyone was thinking the same thing this time, _there's still happiness to be found in this cold world _as they all smiled back at the three of them.

***Meanwhile in the Fire Kingdom***

Finn woke up dazed and tried to make out this strange place, the first thing he noticed was that he was in what looked to him like a gladiator coliseum but with molten lava surrounding the exits that had metal draw bridges that were raised up at the moment, he saw stands with gates around the pit to ward off unwanted projectiles and wild animals from mauling the spectators, he looked down and was surprised to see how hot the ground was and how he felt nothing, then Finn remembered how his skin burned the ice king and how Flame princess embedded a part of her fire into his heart to help him put a stop to her brother Scorcher for the time being. _I failed to stop him though, if anything I tripped him up_.

"So you finally rise!" the Fire King said in a booming voice, Finn turned around and looked up at a throne with the king sitting on it, his hand holding up his head while Scorcher sat at his right in a smaller seat "What happened to everyone after your attack!" Finn Shouted at Scorcher who was looking at his wound that had been cured of the blood infection but left a small hole in his stomach then retorted "Hows your stomach?" in a mocking tone Finn shot back "Pretty good hows your foot!?" "its amazing!" he told him and lifted his foot that had been sawn back together. "How come you're not at home being a crybaby, oh wait that's right I destroyed it!" Scorcher cocked his head back and burst out laughing at the sight of Finns disappointed face, Finn put a hand on his shirt pocket and was relieved to find that Flame princesses ashes (that he hid during the attack) were still there tucked in it.

"You will answer every question I ask and if I don't like your answer well then..." the fire king stared at finn with a judgemental face.

"you'll what!?" Finn demanded in a cold voice as the fire king opened one of the hatches and a creature with a dragon's head, lions body, and scorpion's tail charged at finn he watched the beast draw closer to him and saw not only a weakness in its exposed chest but that it could engulf itself in flames as well and wondered if he could do that too what with Flame's fire inside him, he tried hard to harness his rage and it paid off as his body too burst into flames and made him look like a fire elemental _I feel all warmed up inside! This is awesome its like she never left me! _Finn laughed and pulled out his sword as the beast tried to pounce on him but was cut short as his blade ran the poor thing through _That was easy! How long have I been able to fight like this?!_

"I didn't want to believe it!" the king said to Scorcher in a voice filled with apprehension "What is he father?"

"A fire hybrid and a damn powerful one to say the least!" Scorcher's eyes widened and responded "I thought they were just legends, myths told to children to entertain them at bedtime...Are you sure, he was tough as a human but this will make him a killing machine, imagine what he could do to us if we make him angry enough!"

"Dont worry we'll just wear him down and when he becomes weak we'll kill him, after all he's still mortal." Scorcher heard the doubt in his father's voice and tried to think of a better plan _one of the best tactics to use on your enemy is to become their friend not sure how well it would work but anything is better than pissing the hybrid off_

"Throw him a bone, every time he kills an animal answer a question of his, we get honest intel on him and he gets a lot off of his mind, I mean why kill what we could turn into a powerful ally right?" Scorcher advised his dad

the king thought about it for a minute then said "You raise a great argument but what if he doesn't agree?" Scorcher waved an arm at Finn who had a wide grin on his face as he examined his body and new powers "Then we convince him to agree, unless you'd rather fight that thing and risk whats left of the kingdoms safety?" "Anything but that." The fire king said then raised his voice "My first question is did you honestly love my daughter? Answer and I shall answer your question about what happened to your friends, but at the same time I wish to see your powers, you get training and I get a show plus we both get information the other wants, so...Fair deal?"

"Yes I agree, I loved Flame Princess with all my heart, now my turn!" the next animal came in and looked like the last one but with more scars and a little bigger, Finn ducked as it tried to slash him and swerved around it wasting no time to loop off its head from behind "Your friends are all safe Marceline the vampire queen was arrested by Princess bubblegum for being a threat to her kingdom after she turned in the ice king, Jake the dog spent the nine months you were missing trying to find you but failed as his attention was focused on the birth of his baby."

_WHAT! nine months?! Marceline in prison?! and Jake's baby! How did I stay down for that long?! Why would PB do that to Marc?! What is the Fire king going to do to me?! and how did I end up in the Fire Kingdom?!_

"Did you go to Princess Bubblegum to cure my daughter's condition?" fire king asked and released the thrid beast, this one even bigger, Finn stared at him and turned his sword around not even looking at his adversary and stabbed it in the chest as it pounced like the first one, this beast like the last two fell immediately "I did but my goal was to be with her forever and one day earn your forgiveness for causing her to leave the way she did" he could hear the honesty in the boy's voice

"How was I out for nine months?" Finn asked while the next one came after him, he took it down by grabbing its tail and poisoning it the venom killed it within seconds "the wound you suffered was infected with monster blood Scorcher cured you but it took a full nine months for the infection to leave your body" Finn looked at Scorcher and nodded saying "thank you." Scorcher nodded back but said nothing.

They continued back and forth with questions as a mountain of dead animals piled up, the more they asked the more they got on good terms with each other, Scorcher pointed out that him and the boy both had the same idea for a better world, exterminate all evil, _Everything he says makes sense I get how he wanted to cure my daughter for love, but is he who he says he is? _Fire king thought then asked "Are you really a prince?" making that his last question.

"No im a human boy who has fought evil for years! Did you bring me here to do something for you, or just to make me suffer?" the king spoke back "Yes you are needed here to understand this situation, that is all for today, its weird for once this whole thing really was just a huge misunderstanding." His voice full of vindication

"So? can I go see my friends?" Finn asked in a hopeful tone as he changed back to a regular human and sheathed his sword "I'm sorry Finn but I need someone like you here to help make my kingdom a safe place again, after my daughter left the citizens went on a rampage and the aftermath has left them all paying for it."

"You want me to help recompose order? I'm no politician im just a kid." Finn protested strictly

"Dammit Finn! Please don't make me beg! Scorcher and I can't do this on our own! If you are the hero you say you are then help, if not for us than for Flame!" Those words hit Finn harder than he thought, as a hero he was obligated to help _But how can I when im so confused! I'm still in shock from the fact that everything is going from bad to worse every move I make is a mistake and people die when I make mistakes...! Ok the least I can do is try, and hope I don't destroy the kingdom..._

"I accept, what will you have me do...Your majesty." Finn bowed even though he still did not trust the Fire king _he seems like a decent king but his methods are harsh much like princess bubblegum, and Scorcher why did he become a hitman if he is next in line to inherit the throne? _

"All I want you to do is explore the city, get a clear view of how things are and think of a way to restore order." the king looked over at his son then said "Scorcher you are to be his mentor, give him a tour then return to the castle and show him his room." the king teleported back to the castle by making his fire soar through the sky his armor following him along the way.

Scorcher jumped down and walked over to Finn then extended his hand, Finn stared at him and said "You'll understand if I don't trust you guys yet." Finn told him with the same strict tone he used on the king

"Fair enough, but the last thing I want to do piss you off." Scorcher informed him while putting down his hand.

"That wasnt the case the last two times you tried to kill me." Finn pointed out.

"Well the last two times you weren't my problem, besides your one of us now, a fire elemental."

"I'm still a human though, and im going to stay in this form as much as possible." Finn challenged

"...As you say, now let's go." Scorcher didn't want to start something he couldn't finish, he jumped up and flew outside the ring "change back into your fire form and travel up the wall until you get to the other side!" he instructed Finn but he didn't listen instead Finn climbed the metal bars the gate had in it and jumped down the outside of the arena shaking his legs out from the impact of the fall. "Show off." Scorcher said as he planted his feet back on the ground and walked down the road that lead to the city "I told you I'm going to stay a human as long as possible." Finn restated as he walked with him "so where are we going first?" he asked as they began to pass buildings that resembled any other city in the land of ooo "You'll see." Scorcher grunted blankly, Finn noticed that a lot of people were on the streets half looked like poor people the other half looked like thugs and murderers.

all around him he saw carnage destroyed buildings, fires that he could not tell if they were meant to be there or not, blood and dead people scattered down the roads, the only building that didn't look destroyed was the bar which was missing its sign it had broken glass all around it and the windows were bolted down with slabs of metal, not exactly the first place he would have visited but unfortunately it was the first Scorcher chose.

Suddenly a little girl lightly tugged on part of Finn's shirt right has he got to the door Finn looked down at her and saw bruises and dirt all over her she looked like she was about to die of hunger any day "Please sir, spare a coin?" she asked in a hoarse voice as she held out her hands

"Ignore the hapless pauper." Scorcher told him, Finn said "Give her a coin."

"What! Why? Shes as good as dead anyway!" he protested, Finn quickly wrapped his hand around Scorcher's neck and brought his head down so him and Finn meet eye to eye "because I told you to, now give her a coin!" Finn demanded in a deadly calm voice as he tightened his grip and felt Scorcher's adams apple pressed up against his thumb "Fine" he said trying to breath as he pulled a big golden coin out of his pocket and handed it to the girl

"Bless you!" she said in a voice filled with relief, hope, gratitude, and happiness, as she hugged finn around his legs and ran off to the store he watched her go until she was out of sight then he turned back on Scorcher and looked him in the eye again even though he was trying not to show fear Finn saw it in his eyes "We need to work together if this place is to survive." Finn criticized him and let go off his neck.

filling his lungs with air he retorted "How the hell is giving a coin to some poor person gonna save this land!" he continued to pant until he caught his breath fully "Its a start to showing the people we care about them next we need to root out the biggest evil in the city which is?"

"I'll tell you inside, assuming you don't try to strangle me for letting you know something you don't want to hear." he said as he walked into the bar "Just think of it as payback for you trying to kill me." Finn shot back as he walked in and saw red lights and dark corners which really surprised him considering all the costumers were all fire elementals "What are we doing here?"

"Well this was where your tour would have started but now I just need a drink." Scorcher told him while sitting down and ordering the strongest thing they had, the bartender gave Finn a questioning look and said "sorry kid I only serve elements." "I am an elemental" Finn snapped his fingers and sparks flew out of them "I see..." he gave Finn the same thing Scorcher ordered "Hey wait! I'm to young to drink!" the bartender laughed and said "Welcome to the Fire kingdom kid!" "that's under my tab you'd better drink it." Scorcher stated in annoyance.

"How can you drink this i thought water killed you guys?"Finn asked "Use your brain, there's water in the air, drinking a little boiling hot beer every now and then isn't going to kill us" "I'm guessing that's what this is." Finn said as he looked inside the glass at the glowing dark brown liquid he gulped then dared himself to try it, he put the glass up to his lips and took a tiny sip and almost spit it back out _THAT WAS THE NASTIEST THING IVE EVER TASTED!_ "keep drinking, my sister managed to chug down three pints and was knocked on her ass for the rest of the night." Scorcher told him and laughed at Finn as he drank some more and saw the disgusted face he made.

Finn and Scorcher continued to drink for hours (taking there time savoring every sip) until finally Finn asked "But seriously who is the biggest evil in the city?" sighing Scorcher said "A gang called Infernal Torment." Finn stared at him then laughed and said back "Really, that's so lame! Oh watch out you guys we got some badasses over here!" he kept on laughing as Scorcher said "I think you've had enough for one night" _so much for a tour... how is this guy gonna save our kingdom?_ Scorcher wondered while watching Finn spin back and forth in his chair as he hummed Your fire is in my heart.

"I've been meaning to ask, would you really kiss her in front of my dad?" Finn stopped and grinned at him saying "Yeah I would have...and still want to!" "That might piss him off." Scorcher chuckled as he downed his second half pint of beer and asked "What time is it?" Finn's grin grew even bigger as he exclaimed "ADVENTURE TIME!" Scorcher facepalmed and said "No I mean whats the actual time?" the bartender came up and told them "its 2:30 AM"

"Great we wasted the day drinking." Scorcher said, Finn responded "I wouldn't call it a total waste, I mean I got a pretty good idea of whats going on in the city and this gang you told me about seems to be the biggest cause of all of it."

"Any ideas on how to take them down?" he questioned Finn, Finn thought to himself for a minute then announced his plan "I'm going to rally the people and mess with this gang as much as possible, you know get their attention, I need you to join them and tell me they're plans ahead of time, you and me can't see each other in public once we start in say about one week?"

"Better than my plan, I was just thinking we could kill every gang member in sight." scorcher hiccupped and continued "We need to go back to the castle before the king sends a search party out to find us."

"Yeah it is getting late" Finn agreed, they got up paid for their drinks and walked back to the castle meeting some thugs who got in their way, Finn didn't want to deal with them but beat them down anyway and threw what money they had to a few poor people "What is your name young hero?" one of them asked and picked up a copper coin

"Finn the human" he told the man

"Hybrid" Scorcher corrected

"Human" Finn corrected back

"Finn the...Human...hybrid?" the man blurted out while scratching his head and trying to make sense out of his name "Thank you Finn the human hybrid." he said while still looking confused "I will make sure to spread word of your bravery around town." then walked off to tell others down the street about what just happened. Finn sighed and looked down at a dead woman _This is all my fault if I hadn't been so depressed about bubblegum Jake never would have needed to come here to help me, but I can't change the past all I can do fix my mistake...Some hero I am _a frown formed on his face _what would flame princess do? Would she scold me or comfort me? Probably both but she can't help me now I promise I will fix this mess! _not entirely sure if he was promising himself or her.

Scorcher put an arm on his shoulder and said to him "Maybe it's the alcohol talking but you couldn't have known any of this would happen don't be to hard on yourself" as if reading Finns mind he also added "I bet flame would have wanted you to try." Finn appreciated his words more than he ever thought possible considering everything that they've done to one another "Maybe its the alcohol talking but I feel like you're gonna be a great friend in the future." Finn said back to him and extended his arm "Sorry... for everything..." Scorcher stared at his hand then shook it and replied "I'm sorry too, lets just start over...You're not going to ask me out now are you?" Finn laughed "I don't know with all this alcohol doing the talking for us anything could happen." Scorcher laughed with him then stopped "Wait you are kidding right? right!?" Finn kept on laughing while walking back to the castle that loomed over the city as if it was watching over the chaos and waiting for the right moment to act "Finn! I swear I will murder you in your sleep!" Scorcher ranted until they were at the front door "Ok let me do all the talking, you just agree with everything I tell the king." "right." Finn agreed. "Good."

the two of them walked in and went straight up the stairs to the throne room where the king was sitting watching his fool perform tricks then he raised his hand for him to stop "Ah my son what did you teach our new champion?"

"He taught me how to drink and who the biggest threat in the city is!" Finn blurted out as Scorcher glared at him.

the king began to laugh "That sounds like my boy! just like his old man he knows how to break in new recruits!"

"aren't I just the worst?!" Finn said to him "Yeah your definitely something I'd want to kill." Scorcher replied as he sighed.

"But seriously your majesty he did teach me a lot in the short time we were out." Finn said to save Scorcher from the last comment he made the king nodded and had him and Scorcher dismissed for the night.

"your room is right outside the throne room to the left" he told Finn and opened the door "Thanks, see you tomorrow." Finn said and walked over to his bed ignoring all of his surroundings he laid down and fell asleep the second his head touched his pillow.

he woke up and found himself in the same empty darkness as when he was ready to give up his life the same spark showed up for a split second Finn ran over to it as fast as his legs would allow him but he had to go at least twice if not three times further than last time but when he did catch up to her he smiled and hugged her for what felt like ten minutes enjoying every second of it _this feels so real she can't be alive but I can still touch her! _"What do you think flame, am I on the verge of becoming a fallen hero?" "What do you mean?" she asked in a confused voice.

"I mean look at whats happened Your dead, your kingdom is about to destroy itself, Marceline is in jail, Princess bubblegum is in unacceptable conditions, no matter how hard I try I fail...I'm sorry I know you don't want to hear me complain but...You know what forget about my problems where are you? Are you safe? How have you been holding up? Can I help you with anything?"

"Your doing the best you can, im not sure where im at but im safe, things have been quite but I can see every move you make, I hope you havent taken a fancy to my brother." Flame giggled at the sight of Finn's red face "That was the alcohol talking." "sure it was, anyway I believe if anyone can save my home its you. My hero" she punched him on the shoulder then kissed him, she began to fade away, Finn asked "Will I see you in my next dream?"

"Yes, and the one after that, and the next one after that, remember Finn I am always with you and im always watching, and I love you!" "I love you too!" he shouted after her as the darkness faded and turned into a nightmare (A strange one with music and Marceline running from the candy kingdom prison with bubblegum on the morrow's back and a team of expert hunters tracking her down, she had been wounded and looked like she was about to die) Finn had no idea why something like that formed in is mind but he had more to worry about than some nightmare


	4. The Antiridion

**A.N: Hey guys sorry for the delayed update my computer is messed up right now so I have to use my associate's computer.**

**P.S. Ch. 5 coming soon**

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Marceline was in her cell scratching the cold stone on the dungeon walls with her surprisingly still clean fingernails thinking about what Bonnibel is doing now _She's probably sitting on her throne drinking a hot cup of tea judging others because there not as perfect as she is! _looking at her handy work she realized that she had drawn a picture of her cutting off bubblegum's head with her base guitar and all of her friends cheering in the background "One day." she sighed to herself. _I still have no idea who sold Finn out it can't be the ice king _remembering what he told her and bubblegum _All I did was fly off and then I ran into the hitman I hired to punch them in the stomach a few months back he told me to lead his goblin army I didn't know he was going after Finn and Jake but when we got there I really didn't care if they lived or died!_

_But how did the hitman know they were still alive, maybe it was because he found out his sister died, but then how would he know it was Finn? Jake didn't tell the king his name did he? I can't remember! If that's the case than the Fire king told him, if not then someone else did _frustrated with herself she laid down on her hard uncomfortable bed and looked up at the dark ceiling, the torches might as well have been put out for the useless flickers of dim light they shone, the wind howled through the dark cold cave, rats were scurrying down the tunnel some coming up to Marceline in hopes of getting a few crumbs from the stale moldy hunk of bread a guard threw at her every six hours.

The ice king was in a cell across from her snoring in his sleep he looked thinner from lack of food but managed to become healthier from exercise but the last nine months had taken their toll and with bubblegum cutting back on their food supply be half an hour every month he didn't think they would survive to see the sun rise again. The old wooden door opened and in came princess bubblegum and doctor princess "What are you doing in here?!" Marceline shouted at bubblegum while jumping up out of bed and getting as close up to her face as possible through the bars glaring hard at her

"The doctor wants to check up on you." Bubblegum said shortly in an uncarring voice

"You didn't look so good the other day, when we went to see Jane and rainicorn" Doctor princess said in the exact opposite tone bubblegum had, while breathing on her glasses and wiping them off with the sleeve of her white coat she opened the cell door and pulled out a flashlight and shined it in Marceline's eyes ignoring her hisses of protest and looked into them seeing red blood-shot eyes with bags under them from lack of proper sleep "Oh my...How have you and the ice king been fed?"

in a sarcastic voice she responded "Oh Bonnibel here has been making sure we get the best culinary dishes the candy kingdom has to offer." "Which is..." A guard came in and threw a hunk of bread at the ice king then handed one to Marceline and walked out "OH MY GLOB!" Doctor princess exclaimed as she took the bread and saw how moldy and old it really was then turned around and faced Bubblegum who was smiling nervously, with a furious look on her face she started "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING TO THESE POOR INMATES!?" the ice king bolted up out of bed and watched not saying a word

"I was jus-"

"JUST WHAT!? TRYING TO KILL THEM!?" the doctor cut her off

"No they were-" PB tried to explain again

"YOUR IN VIOLATION OF THE PRISONERS RIGHTS ACT PASSED AT THE LAST CONFERENCE OF OOO'S LEADERS! WHICH CLEARLY STATES THAT ALL PRISONERS ARE TO BE FED A REASONABLE MEAL, THIS IS NOT WHAT I'D CALL A REASONABLE MEAL!"

"I know that! But these prisoners tried to kill Finn!" She shouted back defensively

"THATS NO EXCUSE FOR TORTURE!" doctor princess shot back

"They don't need to hear this, let's go back to my room and I'll explain everything there!"

_Ha! Tried to kill Finn my ass! Ok Finn has a large list of enemies one of them told the fire king but which one! The lich? Recardio? My Father? Me-Mow? The lich is dead, recardio is nowhere to be found, my dad forgave him, Me-Mow flew off of a cliff he's probably dead too. _She continued to think about the list as PB and Doctor princess left but to no success finally she said to the ice king "I'm going to check on them, keep this a secret and I'll bring you back more food, something that's not moldy or old."

the ice king questioned "What if I just tell her that you can escape?!"

"Then I get moved to a cell where I can't escape and you get to die by eating what little uneatable food she gives you." Marceline stated in a matter-of-fact tone

"Point taken, but why stay if you can leave at anytime?"

Marceline looked him dead in the eye across from the bars and said in a voice filled with sorrow "To help my friend, a friend that I picked on when he would give his life to protect me, or anyone for that matter, a friend I abandon for selfish reasons, a true hero who I resented because I thought it was fun, I mean he's what thirteen? Fourteen? and here I am over a thousand years old kicking him out of the only place he had to call home."

"You didn't know who they were, besides you gave it back to them." the ice king responded trying to comfort her

"Yeah but I nearly killed Jake and I would have killed Finn too if not for the sudden punch he threw at me, I turned my back on him the second I got my guitar back from my dad, then me and my ghost friends tricked them into thinking that they were vampires, that nearly killed them as well, in return he saved me from ruining my life with some psychotic jerk, and then he also saved me from an amulet that my dad gave me that turned me into an uncontrolable power-mad bitch." she was almost to the point of tears now.

"They never did anything bad to you?" the ice king said in a gentle voice

"Well Jake tried to kill me with garlic and a wooden stake one time but that was because I tricked Finn into becoming my henchman and made him do all these things that seemed evil but weren't, I tormented him then laughed about it, Jake didn't know that and when he tried to kill me Finn fought him back and stopped him, and they hid in my closet while playing hide and seek I wasn't there and when I got back they must have been afraid that I would kill them because I left a note saying not to go inside, other than that nothing, Finn is to mature to try and get back at me." She replied while still trying to hold back her tears

"You must have done some good things for them." choosing his words carefully

"I helped him with a couple's movie night problem, he wanted to ask bubblegum, so I gave him advice and all that did was get him thrown out of the kingdom, he tried to woo me over and I turned him down, once I found out he wanted to go as friends though I went with him." A weak smile formed on her face

"that's it?" he said back

"Other than the time a comforted him and fed him eggs that's it." thinking back to his sad face and how terrible she felt for all the things she did to the poor boy

"Yeah Jake kicked me out the window that day" ice king reminded her casually

"I'm going to make it up to him!" Marceline was determined to find the coward that turned him in she transformed into a bat her clothes shrinking with her as black hair covered her she flew through the bars and whispered "I'll be back with food after I figure out what they're talking about up there." the ice king nodded as she flew up into a vent on the ceiling and made her way past pipes and other vents that led to other rooms in the castle passing peppermint butler who was making tea in the other room, Cinnamon bun was walking down a hallway and Jake was staying by rainicorn's side at the hospital, Marceline went up a few more vents and eventually found the one that led into bubblegum's room it was filled with pictures of her and all sorts of lab equipment, and a demonic looking book Marceline paid no mind to it as if right on que bubblegum came in with doctor princess who still had a cold look on her face.

"Those two are not fit to be fed proper food, they tried to kill Finn if he dies then no one is safe in this world!" Bubblegum told her

"But they're still living beings they don't deserve to suffer like that! Why are you so bent on making them rot?" the doctor asked

"I loved Finn and if not for those two he would be by my side hugging me at this very second!" Bubblegum said in a hurt voice

Marceline almost blew her cover as she put a hand to her mouth to stop from shouting out laughing _oh yeah Finn would be hugging you...So he could shove his dagger into your back! Your so dumb he will never forgive you, you bitch! _she continued to laugh while listening to Bubblegum's fantasies about her and Finn until finally doctor princess cut her off and said in her soft voice "You can't let your personal feelings get in the way of the law, you rule this kingdom well but if word got out that you do this to your prisoners...Well people wouldn't take to kind to that."

"I know, it's just so hard." She replied her voice slowly coming back to her

"Dont you think nine months is enough?" Doctor princess tried to convince her to give it up

"Yeah your right...I'll give them a reasonable meal from now on I promise." Bubblegum reassured her even though she was lying Marceline could tell by the small hint of her voice that had a touch of treachery in it, clearly Doctor princess didn't notice it because she smiled and nodded "I have to go now I'm trusting you to do the right thing." with that she left the room

Princess bubblegum sat down and waited a minute then said to herself "Yeah they'll get a decent meal...After a nice interrogation filled with answers one way or another, I wanted to turn that one spell into a chemical before I did this but time has run out" she walked over to her potion table and picked up her pink metal gauntlets put them on and left the room Marceline flew back down the vent ways and made it to the dungeon transforming back into her regular self and hiding behind the door that Bubblegum first came in from

"Hey I thought you-" The ice king started as Marceline stopped him and whispered what Bubblegum was going to do, true enough she came storming in with the guard that gave them food, Marceline quietly and quickly bit the guard on his neck he fell almost instantly.

Bubblegum opened the ice kings cell and was about to punch him but was froze by him at the last second he ran out and slammed the door behind him "Now what do we do?!" he exclaimed

"We need to get even, there's a book in her room I want figure out what it is, plus I found my axe in there, and I want to steal her notes and potions, you can get something to eat freeze any guards in your way but leave the people alone then come up to her room and help me take what we can agreed?!" ice king nodded as they ran up to the higher levels.

Marceline lost the ice king once she passed the kitchen _he can take care of himself._ she thought while running up the stairs that led to bonnible's room ignoring the people who stared at her kicking down the door wasting no time to grab her axe, and the book, she stuffed her pockets with however many notes would fit, then grabbed a bag that was hanging on a rack bolted to the wall and filled it with potions all the potions in fact.

_What did I hope I could do in prison? I tried to solve this mystery and all I did was waste nine months that could have been used to find Finn, I'm an idiot! But at least I got the book. _The ice king came in with food all around his mouth and had a sandwich in his hand "What is the book called?" he asked while picking up the left over notes that Marceline could not get

"It says the...antiridion, is this supposed to be the evil version of the enchiridion?" Marceline wondered as a thought that things were about to get real ugly for everyone formed in her head

"Finn and Jake gave that book to some bear that dressed up like Finn." the ice king told her while swallowing his sandwich in one gulp

"Have you been spying on them again?" she accused

"I get lonely." he responded with a guilty look on his face

"This book and notes should be enough to stop Bonnibel for a few months but..." an evil smile grew on her face.

"lets destroy her room, then freeze it so when it thaws she has a nice mess to welcome her back!" the ice king laughed and agreed then went to over to a cabinet opened it and slammed it to the ground, Marceline flew up and knocked down the chandelier.

a full hour passed and they were finished, sitting down for a second the ice king panted "I think we both needed to get that out of our system."

"Yeah, she has some weak forces, I mean no guards bothered us except the one in the dungeon and even then he didn't put up a fight." Marceline picked up an umbralla to shield her from the sun and added "Lets freeze this place and get out." the ice king froze the room and flew out of the balcony window with Marceline right behind him flying past the town below and the green hills until they stopped where the treehouse used to be.

"I'm going to study this book back at my place, you should go home and study those notes, keep in touch I'll see you in a few days." Marceline flew back home, the ice king doing the same.

_Antiridion? I wonder how Finn is holding up if he's still alive he must be with Scorcher, I just hope he's getting along with him as well as me and ice king are _she made her way back to her cave and sat down in her bed thinking about how bad things are going to get once Bonnibel unfroze

* * *

***Meanwhile in the Fire kingdom* **

Finn awoke from the nightmare he had last night and sat up rubbed his eyes and looked around his room seeing a vanity and all of Flame princess's stuff, her scented candles, her bed sheets, her closet full of clothes, and much more, the walls were red like any other in the kingdom. _Those assholes gave me flame's room! They better not expect it to stay this way! _"Sorry Flame but im going to change things up a bit." he felt like a moron who was talking to himself even though he knew she heard him wherever she was.

Scorcher knocked on the door "Come in." Finn told him, he opened the door and came in with a bag then laughed at Finn "Well good morning princess!" "Piss off!" he yawned and jumped out of bed "Why did you give me her room?"

"Because you love her with all your heart." he taunted

"Ok, now tell me the real reason." Finn was getting aggravated with him now but kept it bottled up.

"To be honest with you this is the king's idea of a gift." Finn glared at him in disbelief "No im serious, this really is a gift." Scorcher said in a truthful voice.

'I'm still going to change it up, no offense to his majesty but I can't work in a room this filled and difficult to maneuver." he told him and started moving Flame's stuff to the closet "What does the king want me to do today?"

"Today Your gonna train with me, do you remember Me-Mow?" Finn stopped and narrowed his eyes "Yeah he almost killed Jake and wildberry princess, why?"

"He told me you were still alive and when to strike, yeah all my dad did was let me know she died but then he showed up and told me the whole story, he's in a cage right now, tried to assassinate you after you fell asleep." Scorcher continued "Your training will start with you manipulating a fire and killing him with it, but first put these new clothes on." he threw the bag to Finn and left so he could change.

Finn looked at them and saw that it was the exact same thing he had on now but it was all black and felt a little lighter he changed, put the bag of ashes in his new shirt pocket and told Scorcher to come back in as he grabbed his sword thankful that it was made out of demons blood or else the intense heat would have melted it.

Scorcher came in and stabbed Finn in the chest with a knife but it bounced back, Finn didn't feel a thing "THATS AMAZING! MAGICAL ARMORED CLOTH?!" he exclaimed.

"Yeah just another gift from the king, don't ask where we get this stuff though." he warned "Now let's start your fire training, follow me." Him and Finn walked down the hallway passing pictures and guards some Finn remembered from his previous trips to the castle "I wonder what happened to B.M.O. and nepter." Finn thought aloud "What the hell is a B.M.O. and nepter?" Scorcher asked completely lost.

"My robot friends that were probably destroyed once you burned down what was left of my home." Finn told him blankly _thats water under the bridge now, no point in reopening old wounds, they might have gotten away in time but im not getting my hopes up_

"Oh..." Scorcher said uncomfortably but shook it off and started telling Finn about some of the pictures on the walls giving him mini history lessons along the way to the spiritiual room where new recruits trained in the disapline of conjuring and manipulating fire once they got there all Finn could see was a single basin standing on a small piller that went up to Finn's waist it was in the center of the pitch black room and there was some small pieces of wood in it.

Scorcher went in first and moved over to a corner where he picked up a cage with a tiny cat who had white fur and faded grey stripes traped in it, Me-Mow had a terrified look on his face and things didnt help when Finn stared at him coldly, Finn could not see it but flambo was in the room too chanting something alien to Finn's tonuge.

"How did you transform into your fire form yesterday?" Scorcher asked him in a commanding tone.

"I built up my rage then let it out." Finn told him in a loud clear voice

"Dont ever do it that way again, the rage in our bodies is always under control but if we ignite that rage it could consume us from the inside out turning us into ashes within seconds, remember what my sister said "_never toy with the emotions of a fire elemental!" _heed those words well for they determine life or death here." Still in a commanding voice he continued "Flame princess was the exception she was emotionally unstable but she learned to adapt to it, now you must look deep down inside you're calm mind and transform not from rage and not from happiness but from you're body." Scorcher went in front of the fire and manipulated it so the center was clear but the edges were swirling in a ring of fire, then he dropped Me-Mow in it and waited for Finn.

Finn had his eyes closed focusing on his mind and body trying to passively transform _um...body if you can hear me I need you to help me get back into my fire form without using any emotion...I'm still not understanding what i'm supposed to be doing but if you understand please help. _nothing happened but Finn kept trying anyway, ten minutes had passed and he was about ready to give up when suddenly he remembered his heart it was just as important as his mind he tried yet again and still unaware of how it happened his body burst into flames making his fire powers all the more powerful.

He looked down at the tiny cat who was freaking out and the cat looked him in the eye Finn saw fear and desperation but was unmoved by the little monster who he was about to take vengeance on despite what his mind told him about being a hero and saving him. _He almost killed Jake, but he deserves a chance to live like everybody else, but he is evil!_

Scorcher looked at Finn and said in a much softer tone "Think about all the innocent people he has killed and will kill."

Finn ignored him and stared at the fire for the first time realizing the beauty of it watching how it danced, ignoring both Me-Mow and Scorcher he put a hand over his mouth and put his other one up top in front of him then chanted something in an ancient tongue a symbol appeared where his hand was he moved it over and kept on chanting until a bunch of different symbol appeared in a complete circle once he finished he took the ring of fire that Me-Mow was trapped in and made it into a dome of fire still ignoring his gasps for air Finn took the symbols and made a string of fire wrap around them and put them directly across from the dome so it encompassed it Finn shouted some word that he himself didn't know and watched as fire shot out of all the symbols and hit Me-Mow burning him into nothing in less than a split-second

Flambo watched with a new found respect for him, while Scorcher stared at him and saw the fire go back to normal and the symbols disappear.

"How did you-"

"I don't know, I just did it without thinking about it." Finn shrugged

"I... need to look into this, you go do whatever you want for the rest off the day." Scorcher told him and left the room quickly

"That was awesome!" Flambo exclaimed, making Finn draw his sword and spin around looking for him

"Down here." Finn looked down and sighed with relief once he saw him sheathing his sword he asked "Did you see all of that?"

"You bet and let me tell you that your going to be one hell of an asset to restoring order people are already talking about you "Finn the human hybrid" is going to take down the infamous Infernal Torment gang and save this land from itself, sounds like a fairy tale yet here you are new to town and already making things better!"

Finn shrugged again "I'm doing it for Flame not for the king, I don't care how many gifts he gives me I know all to well how he works." Finn tugged on his shirt feeling the hole in his body that was still healing "These clothes are usefull to me but more usefull to the king seeing as i'm fighting under his banner."

"I know exactly how you feel, I give him all the intel and he takes all the credit, you do all the grunt work and he's the one that will go down in history for choosing you... Although your name will go down in an even greater chapter of history."

Finn and Flambo talked for hours mostly about every little thing that happened in the past nine months, apparently the water kingdom has been getting upset about all the fire elementals that keep on harassing the citizens of the water kingdom hopefully Finn can stop all this before it escalates into an all out war, everything else has been pretty quite so far but there is a rumor going around that Princess Bubblegum has been acting more and more like a tyrant than a fair ruler.

Finn yanked and said "I'm getting tired."

"Yeah its been at-least ten hours, you should get something to eat then go to bed, way more work to do tomorrow, anyway I have to check out a certain book I'll see you tomorrow." Flambo said his goodbye and left. Finn also left and went down to the kitchen where an angry cook with a steak knife shouted "How many times are you going to mess with me before it gets boring!"

"Sorry about that but if you remember I was trying to catch some killers that day." Finn told him quickly, the cook calmed instantly and said "Yeah I remember that day you did this kingdom good and now your back doing it again, here you go." he gave Finn an amazingly extra large sandwich that he had been working on all morning "Consider that thanks, it was for the king but what he doesn't know wont hurt him."

"Hell yeah!" Finn said aloud then added "I'll not waste anymore of your time, sorry to bother." the cook nodded "It's no problem, come back again tomorrow and I'll have something different for you to try."

Finn walked down the hallway eating his food feeling kind of guilty for Flame princess _I wonder how she's doing now, it must be hard for her to just sit there alone in never-ending darkness watching me try to save her home, I'll make it up to her somehow when I see her tonight in my dream _he finished his sandwich and went back to his room but two guards were stationed on both sides of the door with there spears crossing in front of it.

Finn dashed forward and slid under them and quickly opened the door only to find Scorcher and the king talking, a guard tackled Finn but was elbowed in the chest the second they hit the ground getting up quickly Finn grabbed the spear and pointed it at the guards neck "Whats going on in here?" Finn asked in annoyance.

The king sat up from the bed and explained "Scorcher and I were talking about your enhanced ability from what he's told me you were chanting in the ancient tongue of my ancestors they were fire elemental prodigies capable of great and devastating powers, but now our talk is over and it is time for all of us to retire to our rooms." Finn gave the guard his spear back and sat down on his bed watching the king and his guards leave Scorcher got up and left saying "See you tomorrow princess." and closing the door behind him as Finn demanded "Stop calling me that!"

Lying down he thought about how uneventful the day turned out _I can do more with my time than train and talk and eat sandwiches, I should have been out there helping more homeless and giving the dead proper burials, or at least beat up some thugs _Finn continued thinking until he fell asleep. Like his last few dreams he woke up in the same empty darkness but was lost no flickers of light showed up _OH NO! IS SHE IN TROUBLE! _he ran in the direction he hoped was the same as last night for what felt like ten minutes until the flicker of light showed itself in the expanding dark.

_why is she so far away? _his legs felt weighed down and his chest was hurting but he kept on running, nothing would get in between them again, the light was still a long ways away but Finn would not give up. Twenty minutes passed, twenty minutes of non stop running by this point he felt like he was about to puke but didn't stop until he was right in front of her, panting he grabbed hold of her and embraced her in a tight hug.

"I'm here for you Finn." Flame said as she laid her head on his shoulder and held on to him just as tight "I'll never leave your side again." She promised in a gentle voice.

Still panting Finn said back "Nothing in or out of this world will keep us apart, I would defy nature for you." still holding on to her afraid to let go, remembering her every word from the goblin village.

"No Finn...We would defy nature for each other." Flame corrected

"Yeah...I'm so sorry your stuck here having to watch your home burn down by the fire it was created from, if I can do anything, anything at all to make this easier on you please let me know." Finn was still panting but nowhere near as hard as before.

Flame looked him in the eye and said "You already have...Look at what we've been through any other couple would have been crushed but we made it and are going to keep making it." She kissed him as if to reassure him then began to fade away.

"I'm always with you Flame princess!" Finn shouted to her and put his hands on his heart, she did the same and shouted back "Always!"


	5. Hitman for hire

**A.N: Sorry to keep popping in just wanted to let you guys know that chapters will be updated every weekend and the minimum will be 2,000 words the maximum 5,000 words**

**P.S. Ch. 6 coming next weekend**

* * *

_HOW DARE THEY TRASH MY ROOM! IF THE BOOK IS NOT THERE THAN SO HELP ME THEY WILL PAY!_ Princess bubblegum thought to herself as she shivered with a pink blanket wrapped around her watching Jake and a few of her guards using flamethrowers to thaw out her bedroom, shaking her head making water fly off of her drenched bubblegum hair as peppermint butler came down the hallway carrying the same old lime green platter he always used to bring tea to the princess this time however he brought her a clear glass mug full of hot coffee.

"Here is the tea...I mean..._Coffee_ you asked for princess." saying coffee as if it had insulted him _Why does she want this nasty crap? Tea has always been her favorite, mine too now she wants this out of nowhere? I hope she's okay I've never seen her like this before. _She grimaced in annoyance snatched the mug and said in a cold blunt voice "Dismissed." not wasting a second to do what she ordered he turned around and briskly walked back down the way he came.

The princess continued to watch the slow progress her guards made and began to think about Finn, still staring at the ice wall, _Did I do the right thing by killing Flame princess? Did I do the right thing by throwing Marceline and the ice king in jail? Finn yelled at me for killing her but he didn't really love her did he? I mean he even said he loved me Flame was just used to fill the void of not being with me right? He also yelled at me saying he moved on but he wasn't serious was he? Finn if you give me just one last chance I promise I will make you the happiest person in the universe! _another thought popped into her head almost like a good and evil version arguing inside her mind _Just like how you promised to find out who betrayed him? That was Marceline I did not have enough time to get the answer out of her._

Bubblegum stopped thinking before she went insane and chugged down her coffee "Jake come here for a second." She demanded still in a cold voice.

Jake turned around and unstrapped the belt around his waist putting the flamethrower down and walking towards her asking "What's up princess?"

Glaring at him she started "Did you have anything to do with this?"

Shocked by her accusation he replied in a hurt voice "Of course not I was at the hospital with Lady rainicorn, she just got out this morning, why would you think that?"

Bubblegum remembered all to well how long it took to unfreeze her, all last night her guards were trying to break her free without hurting her finally being able to just a few hours ago. "You and Marceline are close friends for all I know you broke her free then shrunk and ran back to the hospital."

Jake could not believe what he was hearing "Why would I start trouble right after my daughter was born? I have a family to look out for now." he told her in a calm voice

her expression softened and she said in an apologetic tone "I know you do, I did not think you had anything to do with it I just wanted to be sure."

Jake gave her a dirty look and said back "Yeah I'll bet, now if you'll excuse me I think I'm going to go check on them." then stormed down the hallway

"Jake wait!" he ignoring her and slammed the door shut behind him. Bubblegum sighed _Great now I just hurt the feelings of one of the few true friends I have left, I'll make it up to him tomorrow _looking up at the ice wall that had hardly been dented by the flamethrowers _I still never got a chance to convert that one spell into a potion if the book is still there which I highly doubt then I'll get right on it, if it's not then I'm hiring an assassin to take them down, what was it again, "Niaga esir lliw hcil eht" those were the words to the immortality spell...This is going to be a long day _she thought and stared at the bottom of her glass.

***Meanwhile at Marceline's house***

"What does this mean?" she asked herself as she continued to try and decipher the words that did not even look like a real language, shutting the book she looked at the front cover it was pitch black with the word Antiredion written in blood that could not be smeared and two green circles that looked like eyes staring at her it smelled like death and almost felt alive despite how old and torn up it was, getting up out of her chair she went outside and dug a hole with her bare hands then put the book into the hole and buried it and placed a big rock on top of the patch of dirt _Cant be to careful, Bonnible is gonna try to take it back and probably put a bounty on my head, in the mean time I can study those notes of hers and see what some of the potions are for, or as she calls them "Chemicals" it's all the same to me _Marceline went back inside and washed her dirt covered hands, then went to the table and started looking over the notes.

***Meanwhile with the ice king***

"Oh yeah, those two are not that bad." The ice king said aloud from his telescope which he used to spy on...Well everyone while watching wildberry and ragedy princess walk down the road that lead to the candy kingdom. _I wonder if they would like the scar, makes it seem like I've been in fights _he thought and put a hand on the left side of his cheek that had a scar of Finn's hand when he slapped him nine months ago.

Gunter wattled over to him and grabbed his ear "Ouch! That hurts daddy!" the penguin ignored him and steered him over to a table with all the notes that he stole on it "Fine I'll get right on them in a minute!" he shouted and started to walk back over to the telescope but stopped when he saw Gunter about to push it out of the window.

"Dont you dare!" he exclaimed in a panicked voice and ran back over to the notes and started to read. Gunter stared at him firmly and nodded but did not leave the telescope.

***Meanwhile at the Fire Kingdom***

Scorcher was in his room on his computer talking to Princess Bubblegum "For the last time I don't know what happened to the boy, he probably burned along with his house, I was ordered to kill him." Scorcher lied to her _I'm glad Finn is not here to see Bitchgum, all these calls end the same anyway nobody calls me unless they want someone dead. _unfortunately Finn had just finished helping the city for the day and was outside Scorcher's room listening to every word the two of them said "I don't believe that!" she shouted at him.

Scorcher sighed and waved his hand in her holographic head hoping that it annoyed her "Just shut the hell up and tell me what you want before I end the call." he reached over to the delete key as Bubblegum said "I need you to hit two people."

"Who?" he questioned "Marceline and the Ice king." Scorcher thought back to how him and the vampire fought _She has amazing skills but was reckless and made stupid mistakes, and the ice king is a danger to himself and others around him, I'll talk to Finn about it _"Out of curiosity why do you want them dead?"

"They stole a book of mine then trashed my room, if you are not with them then prove it and kill them." Scorcher stared at her "And if I am?" She smiled "Then you die too." Bubblegum ended the call, cracking his knuckles Scorcher opened the door and saw Finn with his hand up about to knock on it "Hey, just finished my job and was going to see if you wanted to go and get a drink with me and flambo."

"Yeah...That sounds good, I need to tell you something anyway." the three of them left and went down to the bar and ordered drinks "Bubblegum called and requested a hit on Marceline and the ice king." Finn gave him a look of shock even though he heard it all "Why does she want them dead they're already in prison." Scorcher gulped down his first drink and ordered another one "Not anymore they busted out and stole a book of hers then trashed her room."

Flambo cut in "What sort of book?"

"She did not say, but obviously it's important." the three of them drank in silence after about four half-pints Finn broke the silence "Lets go to them and fake they're deaths Ice king can do whatever but Marceline will have the book I'm sure of that, I want to see this book and get an idea of what _peebles_ is up to lately"

"Sounds like a plan princess." Scorcher said and got up but fell face first on the floor "I can't move right, to drunk."

"I can help us there." Flambo stated proudly and chanted something in the ancient fire language a tiny wave of energy rushed through Finn and Scorcher and they felt sober "Better?" he questioned Scorcher.

"Way better" he replied and got up again, the nosy bartender had been listining to they're plans for the past few days they've been here and the second they went out the door he ducked under the bar and pulled out a stone that opened a hologram of the fire king's two nephews who tried to kill him for killing their dad.

The bartender explained what was going on. "That worthlesss kid thinksss he can jussst ssshow up and try to ssstop everything we've done!" one of them hissed after they heard the whole story.

"Dont worry we know scorcher is going to join us and give the kid intel, I say let him join and then give him false intel." the other one said and added "Then we strike when they least expect it, infernal torment wont be bested by a boy and a hitman!" they both laughed and ended the call the bartender got up thankful no one was around to see or hear that.

***Meanwhile with Flame Princess***

"Come on you can do this, just focus" Flame told herself with her eyes closed and legs crossed sitting in the never-ending darkness with a tv screen (but no actual tv) in front of her that showed what Finn was doing. _Come on! If there's a way to see what other people are doing then do it, Finn can't do it all himself I need him as bad as he needs me, but if I cant get more information for him then we'll never be together again! _She continued to focus for hours while watching Finn and her brother go over to the ice king and fake his death by...Taking a suit of the ice king that the ice king had in his closest for some reason and making it look like he had been burnt to death. _What the hell is wrong with that guy?_

then they went over to Marceline's who to Flame's disapproval hugged Finn for a full five minutes apologizing for every bad thing she ever did to him, finally Finn managed to explain the situation. Marceline practically begged Finn to let her join him and he grudgingly said yes, she went over to a rock and pushed it aside revealing the dirt patch that held the book under it digging it back up she told them of how she could not figure out how to read it.

Running back inside she grabbed all of her important stuff and had Scorcher burn her house down _Really? You guys can do better than that, why not make it look like you stabbed her with a wooden stake in her sleep while recording the whole thing? Unless they want bubblegum to think she's still alive, it doesn't matter as long as they're all safe._

The four of them headed back to the Fire Kingdom, Finn and Flambo argued the entire trip back about who should get the book, they all took a vote and Finn won, three to one but promised that he could have it once he finished it.

a few more hours had passed and Finn had just finished another meal the cook made for him, Marceline set up a camp around the outskirts of the city, and the others were already asleep, opening the door Finn lied down on the bed and put the book under his pillow, thinking like he always did before he fell asleep.

Flame shut down the screen and sighed disappointed with what little progress she made...If any progress for that brightened herself as much as she could like any other night so Finn could see a flicker of light, sure enough he did and was sprinting towards her as fast as he could _Oh Finn, you're so cute when your determined _she thought and a smile formed on her face.

holding out her arms she embraced him "You did great today, helped poor people, beat up thugs and gave the dead proper burials, put out certain fires, got Bonnible off my brothers back for now, let Marceline join you and the best part is you got the book Bubblegum so desperately wanted back." She told him in a loving voice.

"The gang has not made a move yet but the people are finding courage to fight back, I just hope that doesn't make things worse, anyway how have you been?" he asked in an equaling loving voice.

Flame lowered her head and said "I've been trying to see what other people are doing so I can give you a rundown of what to do and when, I know you probably don't want me to but I can't sit idly by and let you risk your life, information is a powerful tool Finn"

"That...Makes sense but I still don't completely follow." Finn replied confused.

"Ok, think of it like this I died because Bubblegum is..." Flame stopped so Finn could finish

"A Bitch?" he said and Flame giggled.

"No it's because she is smart (and a bitch), she has science and knowledge on her side, you have valor and a pure heart on your side but that still might not be enough."

Finn understood now "I get it, you mean brute strength will always be trumped by wisdom, so that means I need to study! But where do I start?" His voice was filled with a mix of eagerness and apprehension.

"You can speak in the ancient fire language why not study and master that for a start, Bubblegum wont know what hit her, and after that you try the basics of science, or you could study different sword techniques, whatever you want." Flame said in an encouraging tone.

Finn beamed at her and with a voice full of gratitude said "Thanks babe." then kissed her as they both got sucked back away from each other "I love you Flame!" he shouted to her as she faded away saying back "Love you too!"


	6. Just your problem

"Not bad princess, but lets see you stop this one!" Scorcher taunted Finn as he advanced on him with his shield close and his sword raised high swiftly swinging down as Finn brought his shield up to block the mighty blow his sparring partner inflected, the force and speed Scorcher had with a blade seemed almost unnatural to him, looking down he noticed his metal shield had been sliced in two clean halves and the tip of Scorcher's sword cut his fingers, thankful that he still had them Finn ducked under Scorcher's next attack which involved a thrust aimed at his head and slashed back trying to cut his feet and make him lose balance.

Jumping back he taunted again "I thought you were good at fighting!"

Finn ignored the insults and wiped sweat off of his forehead realizing how bad he had been beaten, his left shoulder felt as if it had been dislocated from all of the poundings it received. _The damn shield broke! and this stupid armor can only protect what parts of my body are covered! _despite how much he blocked, Scorcher still managed to cut him and slam the hilt of his sword into whatever part of his body he could.

The unscathed Scorcher asked "Do you want to stop?" and started to put up his plain sword and shield but stopped when Finn shook his head "You don't give up easily do you?" he asked and got in his stance.

"No I don't." Finn responded in an exhausted voice filled with determination

Finn charged after his partner and was about to stab him in the gut but was cut short as Scorcher bashed him in the face with his shield knocking Finn to the ground.

"Do you want to stop?" he asked again and this time Finn nodded, staring at the opening draw bridge over to his right one of the king's messengers came into the arena and told Scorcher something then left.

"I have to go see you around." Scorcher said and left as well, Finn got up disappointed with himself _I could have beat him...Aw who am I kidding he was going easy on me and I still couldn't land a hit on him. _walking down the road that lead to the castle completely oblivious to what was going on all around him, he continued to think as a throwing knife missed his head by inches _Maybe I should try to figure out that book it's all gibberish but there must be a translation, I guess Bubblegum can read it considering she wanted it back _he was inside the castle walking down the hallway that lead to his room when he heard Scorcher talking to someone in it.

"Ok I can believe you killed the ice king but Marceline's body was nowhere to be found and her house is burned down, now where have I seen that before?" Bubblegum said in a rude voice

"I have no use for a stupid vampire, trust me when I say I killed her." Scorcher replied in a reassuring tone then added "Will you stop getting in the way Flambo!"

"Hey, I need that book, there is more to it than Finn could ever understand!" he retorted defensively.

"I know that's why the king asked us to find it!" Scorcher argued back.

"Then stop chit-chating with princesses and help me find it!" Shock overtook bubblegum as she glared at Scorcher and started shout too "So you do have the book! What have you done to Finn?!"

"No we don't." Scorcher hastily stated and turned the computer off then turned to Flambo "What the hell are you trying to do get her to come after us!?"

Flambo's eyes narrowed and he put a finger up to his mouth and whispered "Someone is at the door."

Finn heard him and quickly ran into the next room over to his left it was a broom closet shutting the door as Scorcher poked his head out to see who was there _Those assholes want that book, I told Flambo he could have it after I was done with it, and why does the king want it too, more importantly why don't they just ask?_

"We have to go now!" he told Flambo as he opened the door all the way.

"But we havent checked the other half of the room!" he protested.

"We can check later but someone was spying on us! We have to go now!" Scorcher repeated as him and Flambo left the room and closed the door, Finn waited until he could not hear their footsteps then rushed into his room and grabbed the book from under his pillow saying aloud "Flame I don't know what those two are up to but things are getting worse by the day...I don't know how to save this place if I can't trust the people who are close to me...But you can if you get more screens up to check on them, im going to Marceline's camp at least she wont betray me."

Once Finn got to the outskirts of the city he saw Marceline's tent and ran towards it looking at the landscape around it for miles all he saw was mountains that were red like everything else in the fire kingdom.

Marceline looked up as Finn entered surprised she asked "Are you ok?" looking at his cuts and bruises and sad face.

"I made a mistake..." he explained what he heard and how he can see Flame in all of his dreams.

"So she can see every move you make and is trying to watch over all of us?" Marceline asked mesmerized.

"Yeah, if she can then maybe things will get better for us, whatever you do don't trust anyone here except for me."

"You do the same." Marceline replied and began to tune her guitar.

"Have you figured out what these chemicals are for?" Finn asked and waved a hand at them and the notes

"Yes actually they are failed immortality potions Bonnibel was working on them, I guess she really does want to be immortal." Marceline looked at the book in Finn's hand and added "Any luck yet?"

"No nothing." flipping through the pages until it stopped in the middle of the book he noticed one line seemed more readable than all the others he recited what he found "niaga esir lliw hcil eht?" Marceline raised an eyebrow and advised "Read it backwards."

"The lich will rise again!" Finn understood why they wanted the book "This is the lich's book! Who knows how many secrets we can discover!" after she had finished tuning her guitar she moved over to see the inside and said "I think my dad might be able to understand this language after all he and the lich are considered two of the most ultimate evils in the land of OOO."

"Its risky but its better than it sitting in my room waiting to be stolen, take care of it, and be careful out there the nightosphere is a dangerous place." Finn handed her the book and she opened a portal with a different spell of her own.

Finn grabbed her arm and said "One more thing, don't be fooled by your dad, you know him better than anyone else."

"Thanks Finn, but I'll be right back, just gonna drop and go, big day tomorrow." Marceline waved goodbye and went through the portal it closed and Finn left the tent thinking about how tomorrow will turn out _We strike at the Infernal Torment gang and finally rid the city of their evil reign, but with what happened today things may be more difficult, ok just pretend that you have no idea what they did and hope they don't stab you in the back tomorrow._

***Meanwhile at the candy kingdom***

Jake sat in the throne room still upset with Bubblegum for what she said yesterday, tapping his foot waiting for her to show up so she can explain what he did wrong this time. A door over to his left opened and she came in with her head held high and a stern look on her face, _her face looks more...Serious than I remember _Jake thought as he watched her sit on her throne and adjust her crown in front of a mirror that one of her servants held up, once she finished she cleared her throat which Jake knew was his que to walk down her red carpet.

once he stopped she cleared her throat again "Oh, right." he said and bowed thinking back to all the ridiculous laws she passed, one being all subjects in her presence must bow even if they are from a different land, but that was not the problem he had with it, his problem was that they had to bow every single time she walked by them.

"Rise." she demanded in the same cold voice she grew more accustom to, Jake did as she said and looked her in the eye but then looked around the room uncomfortably unable to meet her sharp piercing gaze. "Jake the dog, do you know why I summoned you here?"

"Uh...Something to do with that jail break a couple of days ago, you know the one that you accused me of taking part in." he responded in a bitter tone.

"Drop the attitude! You claim that you did not help the inmates in question due to your new family, but I'm afraid I can't take your word for it...Or ever again for that matter. I hereby banish you from the candy kingdom you have the rest of the day to say your goodbyes and get ready to leave." Bubblegum felt disgusted with herself for even thinking about trying to apologize to him _This traitor is a threat to the kingdoms safety!_

Jake's eyes widened as he tried to hold back his tears, he thought he had heard the worst of her yesterday but this was a new low even for her "But I have to support my family." he pleaded in a shaking voice as tears slid down the sides of his cheeks, looking up at Bubblegum desperately who kept the same gaze

"pitiful" she whispered under her breath and said "I am well aware of Rainicorn and her child, I have taken precautions to get them the necessary food and lodging they will need to survive." Bubblegum stared at the dog who had fallen to pieces in front of her throne feeling nothing but hate and contempt for her once called friend.

tears continued to slide off of his face as he steadied his voice a little "What happened to you princess? You used to be so pure-hearted, what happened to the princess that read stories to orphans and saved candy people?"

She looked down but her expression did not soften "That princess died the second she tripped on her dress." Jake thought he heard a hint of regret in her voice as she added "Begone with you...I never want to see you here again."

Jake left the room and walked down the hallway not bothering to explain what happened to anyone who past him, peppermint butler came up carrying more coffee to the princess but stopped when he saw jake pass by.

"Jake are you alright?" he asked in a sympathetic voice, jake looked over at him and with tears still in his eyes said "Goodbye peppermint..." the candy butler dropped the platter unable to hold his shock, glass broke and rang through out the room while the coffee spread out making a hot mess. "She didn't..." _In all of my years of serving royalty, I never would have guessed the princess would turn into a tyrant...I have to stop her before its to late!_

Peppermint butler ran down the hall ignoring his mess and ran into the throne room, Jake continued to head back home saying goodbye to a selective few.

Bubblegum was about to get up as the door opened and her butler came in and quickly bowed. She knew what he was going to say and started before him "Yes he is banished and will never be allowed back in my kingdom."

"But you can't prove he did anything wrong, at least give him a chance to clear his name!" the butler said in a less than sophisticated tone, but regretted it once he saw how enraged she looked.

in a deadly calm voice she snapped "You would defy your ruler's judgement?" that did not deter him which did not surprise her at all considering he was friends with death itself. Another evil thought formed in her mind.

"Ok fine if he clears his name than he is welcomed back." she said in defeat even though she was lying.

"How will he prove his innocence?" he questioned.

"The day those two inmates escaped a book of mine went missing, not just any book you can get from the library, an important book that in the wrong hands could destroy the land of OOO they stole it, Jake will get it back or he will never be allowed back in." The princess stood up and said "I will deliver this message personally as a sign of good faith." then went into her new room behind the throne room to get ready

Her butler nodded with relief and ran back out to clean up his mess before the princess saw it _Ok...Its a start but getting her out of this state of mind is gonna be damn near impossible _he thought to himself and ran back over to the coffee spill thankful that a closet with a mop and broom in it was next to the mess.

pulling the cleaning supplies out and sweeping up the broken glass putting it in a candy cane dust pan and shoving it and the broom back into the closet _take care of that later_ he said in his head making a mental note not to forget then dunked the mop into its bucket of water wringing it out and mopping up the coffee.

_Things will be lonely without Finn, Jake, Marceline, and the ice king here, poor lady rainicorn and Jane will be so sad without Jake _finishing up he put the rest of the supplies back and stated proudly. "That was the most exciting thing I've done in the past year." his smile changed into a frown as he added in a dull tone "My life is so boring." then walked out of the hallway.

***Back in the Fire kingdom***

Night had fallen and Finn left Marceline's tent and headed over to the bar where he met up with Scorcher and Flambo trying as hard as he could to bottle up his rage and hurt feelings _Maybe I'm taking this whole thing to personally, I mean they were under orders by the king to get that book, but they still should have told me first. _A smug look overtook his face as he thought about how they will never see it now _I guess we're even, Marceline's dad has it now and... _his smug look turned into a look of horror as he slapped his hands over his mouth to stop from screaming out loud _OH MY GLOB! MARCELINE'S DAD HAS THE ANTIRIDION!_

He heard a ringing sound in his left shorts pocket _What the? _he pulled out a cell phone and went outside to get away from all of the noise, answering it Marceline's voice shouted out of the other end "Hey Finn! I'm on my way back, don't worry about the book my dad can read it but everything in it is useless to him, something to do with his and the lich's blood not being cooperative since they were both manifested from rival evils or something? I don't get it but rest assured he can't do anything bad with it."

Finn was still unsure about that but dropped it and instead asked "Did you put this phone in my pocket?"

"Yeah when I went to look at the book I slipped it in, you can keep it, its my spare, anyway turn around and look by the side of the bar, talk to you later, bye."

Finn did as she instructed and saw a green glow on the side of the wall then realized it was her portal watching her come out and stretch her body he asked another question "How did you get here so quickly?"

"Quickly? What are you talking about? That trip took me a full week to get back here!" Marceline kept on stretching clearly exhausted, then laid down on the ground putting her arms behind her head looking up at the red night sky and the stars Finn got next to her and did the same thing.

"It's beautiful isnt it?" she said and smiled at him thinking about how cute he looked in his new black clothes.

"Yeah, it really is." he replied in a soft relaxed voice "Hey, do you remember the first day we meet? You told us about some of your adventures and how you hung out here in the fire kingdom."

Marceline blushed "You remembered that? I kinda threw you and Jake out of your home that night." Finn noticed she was getting extremely red _Shes changed a lot in the past nine months...Everyone's changed._

looking back up to the stars trapped in their beauty the red sky making them shine even brighter and revealing patterns that he never saw before making them more clear to see. "Dont worry about that we're still friends right?" he asked forcing his gaze away from the stars and looking at her slightly red face.

"Yeah we are, but I thought you guys were the biggest dorks on the planet at the time...You proved me wrong." she stated in an admiring tone thinking back to the monster and goblin army Finn single-handedly stopped.

A few quite minutes passed then the two of them quizzed each other on constellations, Marceline won by a landslide. "Whats the score now? 50 to 12?"

Finn laughed "No fair! Your over a thousand years old!" They continued to talk about the adventures they had, both of them enjoying every second of the others company until the subject of favorite adventure came up.

Marceline yawned "Lets answer that at my camp I'm getting tired." Finn nodded and got up saying back "I need to get something you go ahead I'll be there as soon as possible." waving bye to her as she flew back to her tent.

Finn went inside the bar and said to the bartender "I need two bottles of regular wine, nothing boiling just plain old wine." he raised an eyebrow and said back "Sorry kid can't hear you."

Looking at him in annoyance Finn reached into his new black adventure pack that he got this morning at the store pulling out a big bag full of gold coins and handed it to him "From the king's vault itself, now how about that wine?"

With a wide grin on his face the bartender took the bag and reached down under the bar grabbed two bottles of red wine and gave them to him "Well it looks like someone is gonna have a good time tonight!" Scorcher shouted as he clapped Finn on the shoulders.

turning around he saw a sober Scorcher "It's for me and Marceline." he told him.

"Are you moving on?" he questioned.

"No way I would never do that to Flame! Just remember what you and Flambo have to do tomorrow!" Finn shouted and left before Scorcher could talk back.

Marceline had been adjusting the settings on her amp and re-tuning her guitar playing scales to make sure it was still in tune, when Finn came in and handed her a bottle "Thanks" she said and went over to her portable freezer which was filled with ice.

"We can use this for the attack tomorrow too." she told him while getting two wine glasses out of a box that said fragile on it and added "I did a lot of shopping last night." when she saw the confused look on his face.

putting ice in the glasses and pouring about 1/4 of their bottles in them Finn asked "So whats your favorite adventure?" and took a sip.

Doing the same she responded "My new favorite is when we let loose wild wolfs in Bonnibel's room while she slept, but my original one was when you saved me from that cursed amulet my dad gave me. Whats yours?"

"I like that new one too, but even more than that I liked when we had to form a band to get our stuff back from the doorlord." he told her and gulped down his first glass and poured another one.

"I knew you were gonna say that! Thats why I prepped my guitar for this!" Marceline grabbed it started playing and cleared her throat then began to sing.

**La Da da da da**

**I'm gonna bury you in the ground**

**La Da da da da**

**I'm gonna bury you with my sound**

**I'm gonna drink the red, ****from your pretty pink face**

**I'm gonna-**

Finn cut in making fun of Princess bubblegum's voice saying "Marceline that's too distasteful!"

"Oh she doesnt like that...Or does she just not like me!?"

***Back at the candy kingdom***

**Sorry I dont treat you like a goddess **Bubblegum finished another cup of coffee and left the castle making her way down to Jake who was at Rainicorn's house.

**is that what you want me to do? **He and rainicorn had both been crying, holding each other with their baby girl Jane in their arms.

**Sorry I dont treat you like your perfect **As bubblegum had her guards open the door all the citizens stopped what they were doing.

**Like all your little loyal subjects do **She passed by them and they all bowed wondering what she was doing at this late hour.

**Sorry I'm not made of sugar, and I'm not sweet enough for you **Peppermint butler was following behind her and the two guards who had torches that accompanied her.

**is that why you always avoid me? **Treetrunks and the pig were there as well, they caught up with Peppermint butler and he explained the situation.

**That must be such an inconvenience to you, well **Doctor princess got in front of her and pleaded with Bubblegum not to do this only to have a guard point his spear at her neck, she followed anyway.

**I'm just your problem **Jake glared hard through his tears at the oncoming tyrant who was about to rip him away from his family

**I'm just your problem **Rainicorn tried hard not to believe her best friend was doing this to them, but the cold look on her face as she came up forced her to believe it was really happening.

**It's like I'm not, even a person **the ice king was hiding on the rooftop as Bubblegum cleared her throat, Jake and Rainicorn refused to bow.

**Am I? **"Very well-" Jane woke up and began to cry at the sight of Bubblegum. "Jake the dog!" She shouted so the silent kingdom could hear her every word.

**I'm just your problem **All of the citizens gathered around to listen to their ruler "The day has come to an end and you must leave my kingdom...However you may return if you can get back my book the details are in this letter!" she handed him a white envelope with her seal on it.

**Well, I shouldn't have to justify what I do **Jake snatched the letter from her and looked at his wife, all of their friends were on the verge of tears too even the ice king was depressed.

**I shouldn't have to prove anything to you. **Bubblegum got as close as possible to them and whispered "Finn is alive, and you can find him in the fire kingdom." backing away as rainicorn nearly jabbed her with her horn.

**I'm sorry that I exist **"Your lucky that we're friends!" she shouted while her guards pointed their spears at rainicorn.

**I forgot what landed me on your black list, but **Jake jumped in front of the spearheads and shot back "Your insane!"

**I shouldn't have to be the one that makes up with you, so **"Begone!" she demanded and turned around with her guards following her back to the castle.

**why do I want to? **With eyes still filled with tears he gave his wife one last kiss, then looked at his daughter and kissed her on the side of her forehead.

**why do I want to? **Putting on a black hat that looked just like the one his dad had, he said "I'll be back for you I promise." he turned around and left leaving behind the two people he would do anything in the world for.

**to...Be friends with you **All of his friends waved goodbye to him unsure if they would ever see him again and to afraid to hope. "Fire kingdom..." Jake told himself miserably as the gates opened, looking back one last time at them.

***Back with Finn and Marceline***

Marceline finished and sighed thinking about the fun they all had back then and how now they were in a constant battle for their lives.

"That was amazing." Finn said to her as he drank another glass.

"I'm scared Finn, not for our lives but for the land of OOO...I need some sleep, are you going to bed too?" She asked completely exhausted. Finn nodded

"I can fly you there." she offered.

"No thanks you need rest and I can walk." he told her but she really wanted to, he could see it in her eyes.

"Please let me take you...It would make me feel better." Finn stared at her _Shes changed A LOT _he nodded again and left the tent she came out with him and he put his arms around her waist as she took flight and dropped him off in his room saying "Good night Finn." in a gentle voice as she jumped out of the window and flew off. Finn laid down and fell asleep immediately.

* * *

**A.N: Ch. 7 will begin with Finn and Flame's dream.**


	7. Bubblegum's mistake

**A.N: Yes I am way behind on updates but ch.8 will be up before this saturday, sorry for the delay.**

* * *

Finn awoke in the never-ending darkness that he and Flame princess shared their love for each other in. He hated to admit it but he prefered the quite emptiness the darkness offered after all it was just the two of them there nobody to bother them and as dark as it was he could not help but feel safe and sound _What is this place? It can't be the land of the dead, and how come I can only come here in my dreams? _he pondered these questions as he ran towards Flame's light happy to be with her after the beating he received in the arena _Scorcher would think twice about challenging me in my fire form!_

He was almost to her. _Bonnibel was so jealous when she saw me kiss Flame right in front of her, Jake told me all about it that night, she's a lot of things but murderer was not one of them...Or at least I thought _Flame spread out her arms to hug him as he caught up to her "I'm so sorry my brother and dad tricked you!" she exclaimed and tightened her grip on her true love.

"Its fine, that book will never fall into their evil hands!" he saw a disapproving look cross her face "No offense." he added quickly.

"No I agree with you, it sucks when you can't trust the people you work for." Finn could not tell what she was feeling when she said that but he disregarded it when she asked about Marceline.

"I think she's gone soft."

"I don't know, something has been bothering her, I hope she will be well enough for the attack tomorrow." Finn was trying to hide how worried he was about that but his voice betrayed him, what he thought was a calm easy tone was actually a panicked one filled to the brim with fear and despair.

"How do you feel about it?" she asked and put a hand on his cheek staring into his misty eyes, he stared back but was silent. "Finn...How do you feel about it" she asked again in an even gentler tone than the one she had been using.

"I- I'm afraid...So much rides on my shoulders the choices I make dictate life and death for the whole kingdom, I know both sides will take loses but no one will win this battle." Finn was trembling when he said that and Flame knew he was right how can anyone win with citizens and guards attacking rebels all in the same city? _If anyone can save my home its Finn._

"I believe in you, You're a hero, a hero that can accomplish anything and you have friends to help along the way." Finn's mood brightened a little but he was still frightened Flame didn't blame him, as strong as he was he's still young and nerves get the better of everyone.

"Finn I have a surprise for you." she announced happily and gave him a kiss, then opened the screen that she used to watch him, Finn was a bit uncomfortable looking at himself sleeping seeing as he was with Flame and was wide awake but asleep at the same time. He got over it quickly when he saw eight more screens surround his, each one showing what a different person was doing.

"Oh my glob..." his jaw dropped as he stood there in awe looking at Marceline, Jake Who for some reason was traveling, Bonnibel who was sleeping, Scorcher, Flambo, the Fire king, Marceline's dad, and the ice king.

"How did you do this?!" his fears vanished as a wide smile grew on his face, walking over to her side and grabbing one of her hands "It's hard to explain." she stated shortly and added "We need to go over our strategy."

"Right." Finn said seriously and started "Scorcher and Flambo are to infiltrate the Infernal torment base, Scorcher found out the exact location when he joined them a few days back, they gave him false intel but Flambo caught them and figured out the truth, meanwhile me Marceline, the king's guards and the citizens are going to attack head on."

Flame nodded and asked "What weapons are we looking at?"

"We have catapults that will hurl large chunks of ice at them, curtsy of the king's contacts, and rockets filled with fire extinguisher, swords, shields, and armor will be given to anyone who wishes to take back the city, this isn't some bar fight this is a civil war, and we refuse to give in!" Finn finished in a determined voice.

"I have to tell you something else Finn it's about your friend Jake..." She explained what bubblegum did. Finn could barely contain his rage.

"I swear I'm gonna get her!" he screamed then took a deep breath and calmed down.

"You've got to stay in control of your emotions Finn!" she criticized him. Even though she was making sparks that sounded like a whip cracking through the air when the popped all around her.

"I'm trying to." and as if to prove it he focused on his mind and heart and without any emotion he transformed into his fire form, he looked the same but his skin was made out of fire and his skills and powers were enhanced ten fold.

"You look adorable." Flame giggled and embraced him "Theres just one more thing we need to go over."

"Which is?" he asked even though he already knew.

"You have to give a speech in front of everyone."

"Great..." Finn remembered the last speech he gave which was at one of Bonnibel's cookouts it was a disaster that nearly killed everyone there yet the people loved it and his presentation of the different dimensions of bubbles.

"I think I can manage that." he reassured her and changed back into a human, but she was not listening, her attention was focused on the two screens with Jake and the ice king traveling and talking.

"Come on Jake please let me go to the fire kingdom with you." the ice king begged.

"No way man! its bad enough I got kicked out of one kingdom, I don't need you to get me kicked out of another!" he yelled, a little less depressed once he found out where Finn was and what he had to do to get back into the candy kingdom.

"You need me Jake! You can't cross the border without getting burned unless you've got a pair of ice boots!" The ice king zapped his feet and a set of boot shaped ice blocks covered his feet he laughed and continued "You know you want a pair! I can give you one if you agree to let me come with you!"

Jake had been tired of hearing the wizards voice "FINE!" he shouted out and the ice king stopped spinning around him in midair, and instead began to cheer, Jake sighed and started running towards the hidden border that Flambo showed him and Finn some time ago.

"Sorry bro." Finn said and with a heavy sigh asked Flame "What do think is gonna happen to us?"

"I don't know Finn, I really don't know." She walked over to him and kissed him saying "But I'm gonna find out."

She began to fade away and Finn knew his time with her had come to an end "I wont fail you!" he told her as she nearly vanished.

"I believe in you Hero!" she said back.

* * *

***The next morning in the candy kingdom***

Bubblegum got up out of bed feeling terrible for losing the book that was the key to her immortality she walked over to her balcony and looked down on the candy people who were raising up their stores and stands while little children ran around playing tag, her guards were standing up top on the kingdom walls watching for any sign of danger _My forces are weak._ she thought to herself as she got ready for the day remembering when she first found the Antiridion it had been the night Jake flipped Finn's prank around in the mansion.

Her and Cinnamon bun reached the mansion before anyone else he sat on the sofa and took a quick nap while she went up to the library browsing the many works of literature it had to offer she owned quite a few of them but there was a back room that had been completely caked in dust the windows inside the room had been boarded up with wood and the only source of light was a few candles with wicks that never went down, and wax that did not melt.

The second she entered the doors slammed shut behind her, but she was to focused on the dusty books to care they were all written in an ancient language but one book stood out compared to all the rest mainly because it was sitting on a stand in the far back of the room in a glass case with a note on it she read out loud to herself "Beware, here lies the ancient text of the worlds most powerful evil the Lich's very own Antiridion made at the exact same time as the Enchiridion. These two books go hand and hand but if they were to be combined in the hands of evil the world would be a shadow of death, however if a hero pure of heart were to combine the two the world would reach a golden age of peace...I regret to say that I am not that hero so with what life I have left I will make the world a safer place until my time comes -billy."

Bubblegum had a violent flashback of the lich taking over her body she could still hear his whispers in her head _What do you think your doing? _he asked as her image changed back to his well of power Finn's amulet broke but he overcame the lich then suddenly the ice king dropped her into the well and the lich's essence took her body it was the worst feeling ever she was chilled to the bone and feared he would freeze her soul _You are not the sweet innocent princess everyone thinks you are, your heart is filled with malice but your mind and will cage it inside, a worthy effort but futile for as long as you two love each other you shall never be pure._

she struggled inside herself and managed to say _You don't know anything about me! Finn has changed me I'm not evil! _

he laughed a heartless dead laugh that made her hair stand on end _You were born evil some thirteen year old playing hero will never change that fact, tell me then if he has changed you than why do you make him suffer you know he has feelings for you yet you play with them why PURE hearted princess do you give your faithful knight false hope of being with you?_

His words were true she knew Finn loved her so why didn't she just tell him she does not feel the same way? A big part of it was because she loved to watch him try and loved denying him even more, but the truth is she really did love him and did not know any other way to hide it _he's thirteen and I'm eighteen if he could just wait a few more years we can be together _she wanted to be with him but the impulses of hurting him were to strong for the love she had for him. It was as the lich said she was born evil but tried to hide it by turning to science. _I think I'm a sadist! I love him but love hurting him at the same time...What's wrong with me..._

The lich vanished and the next thing she knew, Finn and her were the same age they stared at each other until she broke the silence "Give me a hug hero." and walked up to him and wrapped her arms around him.

_Now we can be together, at least until I find a way to turn eighteen again _she thought but something happened, her crazy creation Lemongrab took over and threw her Finn and all of the candy people into the dungeon the only way out was for her to turn eighteen again she gave him a goodbye kiss right before she became eighteen. Her impulses to hurt Finn came back as he asked her "Do you wanna hug some more?" she laughed "Finn that was five years ago you really need to move on." as she got up and went back into the castle adding "Such a silly boy."

The lich never completely left her body though as she stared at the Antiridion _I can see your desire to be immortal...Take it _Bubblegum used all of her willpower to ignore him but he broke through with ease _You will never be pure because you still love the boy, don't fight what you were born to be, take the book._

she was lost on why he kept saying she would never be pure because of love _How can that be!? _she demanded, he let out another heartless laugh _He is your complete opposite born to kill evil, you were born to spread it therefore your impulses to hurt him come natural _she thought about his words then responded _So if I learn to hate that which I love I will be pure? _he was silent for a few minutes conveniently forgetting to say Pure evil, then said back _Yes you will be pure, but in the meantime you should fulfill your own wish to be immortal._

She looked at the book getting the feeling that it was looking back at her shaking her head, she picked up an old wooden chair that was filled with termites and slammed it into the glass spinning around so shards of broken wood and glass didnt cut her face. A ghostly moan filled the room and the candles went out as the doors opened she thought she heard hands clawing at the boards on the windows from the outside. All of the termites made a b-line for the book, she quickly grabbed it and ran out of that hell hole of a room.

_What was that all about!? _she thought while panting and tucking the book under her dress comming down the stairs. B.M.O. and LSP had just arrived.

Bubblegum went back to the balcony and continued to stare at her people then remembered what went wrong. After she had the book she kept it hidden for quite some time, finishing her new invention which she named liquid fireworks, she headed over to Finn's house and showed them off Jake put his head on her lap, while Finn looked at her lost in her beauty she gave him a weak smile, then he did the same as Jake she gave him a questioning look and pushed him off saying "Uh, no Finn, stop acting so weird." getting up satisfied with herself she continued "I have to go." then headed back to the candy kingdom.

But she had gone to far driving Finn to the point of tears, causing Jake to take action and find him another girl, Flame it had to be that one damn princess the one she tried her best to keep away from the world the lich told her she was a threat to the land of OOO which in turn made Flame a threat to her and her plan for immortality. She used the threat of people's safety to help ease her own guilty conscience.

Then a week or two later she went to his house to collect taxes and found out from Jake that Finn was dating Flame, jumping on the morrows back and running back to her bedroom she grabbed her diary from under her pillow and cried out "I thought I would be ready for this!" she felt the Lich aware of her situation but he didn't bother to say anything not even an insult. The next day she tried to warn him about Flame's emotional condition but he was ignoring her and made horrible excuses to get away from her so he could be with Flame. Finally she had the chance to talk to him while he was writing a poem to Flame she told him how she felt without saying the three words that she had been saving for when he was older. But he got mad and yelled at her telling her he moved on she played dumb the whole time. On top of that he broke her heart when he kissed Flame. _How could you..._

Another week passed and he asked her to help cure Flame, it was at that moment that the Lich had completely broken her and jealously reached it's maximum, she dropped her dress and pretended to trip on it forcing the chemical in her hand to fly at Flame hitting her square in the face reducing her to nothing but ashes _Their problem solved _She thought _Now all that's left is to wait for him to get older and enjoy the rest of my life with him, I don't care about how wicked or pure my heart is all I care about is being with him...and my immortality but the lich can help me there._

Peppermint butler knocked on the door and snapped bubblegum out of her thoughts "WHAT!" she shouted out rudely. Storming over to the door and jerking it open "THIS HAD BETTER BE GOOD!"

A nervous peppermint replied in a stuttering voice "A- A vi- video has a- arrived fo- for you pri- princess."

She snatched the tape and slammed the door in his face. her room was completely thawed and back in order walking over to her tv she put the video tape in and saw jake's hands adjusting the camera screen when he pulled them back Finn was standing in front of it _What happened to him?! _surprised to see his new outfit and slightly healed wounds, focusing on his face which had a look of pure hatred on it he started.

"Bubble...Bonnibel I didn't want to believe the rumors that you have become a tyrant but after what you did to Jake and lady." Finn put an arm around Jake's shoulder and brought him closer to him "It's clear that you are not the princess I saved from that crumbling tower a few years ago, so I want you to know..." he paused for a second. Bubblegum remembered all to well how he saved her and in return she showed him were to find the enchiridion _If he has both than he probably doesn't know what they do when joined, but he will given enough time._

Finn continued "I want you to know that we're coming for you!" Marceline floated over to Finn's right side, Flambo jumped on top of his black hat, the ice king came up from behind him, Scorcher and the fire king moved next to Jake. "All of us! You will answer for your crimes one day!" he shouted as Jake stretched his arm out and turned of the camera.

Worried and furious she ejected the tape and threw it on the ground breaking it into a hundred piece, then she burst into tears _What am I going to do?! He knows I love him but he hates me! _she finally realized one obvious and crucial fact _He really did love Flame! I killed her in cold blood! What have I done?! _with tear filled eyes she sat on her bed and began to write in her diary feeling fifty times worse knowing that Finn will never love her again.

* * *

***Meanwhile in the fire kingdom***

Finn and the others were still in the room that they recorded the video in Jake and the ice king were talking to Flambo "Those stupid ice boots did us no good." Jake told the ice king while looking down at his burnt feet he responded "Well it was better than walking in barefoot, besides Flambo hooked you up with his anciant fire resistant spell thing." Flambo added "The blue makes you look like your wife shot you with her horn." he turned to the ice king and raised an eyebrow "Your already blue so it looks like the spell didn't even work on you."

Scorcher was talking to his dad about the attack and what would be the best course of action after the clean up "I think we should make Finn the fire kingdom champion if he can pull this off, then we show the citizens that we're still in charge." he said to the king, he thought about it for a while "We can't make any promises that damn gang has grown a lot this past year and from what the intel says they have plenty of troops just waiting for us to strike."

Finn was talking with Marceline they had become really close after everything they had been through. "So...You sure your ok?" she smiled at him "Of course I'm fine, don't worry I'm ready to fight at the drop of a hat, just say the word." he had the feeling that she was lying but did not intrude into her life any farther instead he said "That's good we need to be ready, I still think it was a great idea to send that video to _Peepels _not only did it relieve stress off of Flambo but hopefully it scared the piss out of her." Flambo had been extremely nervous about the upcoming battle _"I've been in a few fights but never one on this scale" _he confessed to Finn last night so Finn decided to send a threat to bonnibel.

"Do you still like her?" Marceline asked. Finn lowered his head and was about to answer when the door suddenly opened and in came Choose goose with a heavy cart filled with armor and twenty grease filled metal barrels that had a cooling insulation spell on them, and fire extinguisher rockets, swords and shields "Hello everyone!" he exclaimed with a cheery voice and twisted his head upside-down "The armor is here for the citizens in fear, the rockets arrived so that gang wont thrive, in case of raids I sharpened these blades." he told them.

"So how much do you want for all of this?" the king questioned bluntly.

He ran up to the king and began to dance "All I require before I retire is a Fire Kingdom spoon for this big greasy boon!"

"Done!" the king said quickly and told Scorcher to get him one before he changed his mind. Finn thought for a moment then whispered in Marceline's ear "Watch this." With an evil grin he started "Why do you want a simple spoon?" Looking over at his majesty who had a shocked look on his face and was shaking his head and waving his hands for Finn to stop, he pretended like he did not see him.

"Soon my collection will be complete but to achieve that feat I need a spoon, preferably before noon! It will be worth millions or billions!"

Scorcher came back and handed him a spoon, relief flooded over the king as he rushed up to the strange merchant and pushed him out saying "Thank you again for the wares, if we need anything else we will give you a call, bye." Marceline followed the merchant out of the room as the king closed the door and turned on Finn with a cold glare "What was that!?"

"Answer this first, why are you sending your son and intel source into my room? I told you that the book was yours after I was done with it!" Finn retorted while waving his hand at Scorcher and Flambo who had awkward and apologetic looks on their faces.

Flambo answered in a troubled tone "Finn you gotta understand that the book is evil, its too dangerous for you to have."

he scoffed "What gave you that idea! The word Antiridion written in blood? Or Maybe the fact that it stares back at you?"

Flambo was about to defend himself but was cut off as Finn continued "Why would you care? You just told me last night that you were afraid of this attack we are about to start! Now all of a sudden your some sort of big shot who's looking out for me!?"

Marceline came back in with a solid black belt and looked at Finn who had his eyes narrowed at the king and Flambo who had his head down and was staring at the floor, his face had defeat written all over it. Jake and the Ice king were silent and seemed like they wanted nothing more than to leave the room as quickly as they could.

She held back her curiosity and asked Finn for his dagger, without taking his eyes off of the king he reached into his pocket and tossed the dagger in its sheath to her "Right-handed?"

"Yeah" he told her shortly then said to the king while Marceline examined the sheath and saw two straps that fit perfectly into the belt "I promise you that it will never be yours."

The king turned around and walked out of the room "We shall see." were his final words as the door slammed shut. Marceline floated over to him and with lightning speed slid the belt around his waist and buckled it, causing Finn to leap back at her uncalled for action "Woh! What the hell are you doing?!" His face turned completly red. Jake had the same look of shock.

_I knew this was gonna happen, he shouldnt have shared that wine with her, now if their true friends they will find a way to fix this _Scorcher thought to himself.

Marceline's face was red too "I...I dont know what came over me...I'm sorry Finn it wont happen again, do you want me to go?" she started to leave but stopped when Finn grabbed her wrist and said "No dont, running away from this isnt going to solve it...Just please Marceline talk to me, tell me what's wrong, I can help you if you trust me enough."

She did not respond but didnt leave either when he let go of her. Flambo finally looked at Finn and told him "Listen your right It was not my place to try and take the book, we were under orders from his majesty to recover it."

"Take that as an apologie and lets be done with it." Scorcher told him and picked up the cart "Help me out." Flambo took the other handle and his arms barely managed to grab it but he was still able to move it.

the ice king went over and opened the door, Finn whispered something in his ear and he gave him his banana phone then headed out of the room saying "Its almost time."

Marceline shook her head "I told you last night that I was worried about the land of OOO but not only that I'm afraid that my dad might be passing away soon when I went to the nightosphere he looked tired and sick, I feel so lonely and I dont know what to do!" her voice had a mix of sorrow and denial in it. "I'm going to the front lines." she told him miserably then followed the ice king who was at the end of the hallway.

"What are you doing?" Jake asked while Finn searched through the list of witches numbers that were on the ice kings banana phone. "Do you remember when we saved Marceline's memory and stopped her from dating that creep?"

"Yeah that guy was a real piece of work." Jake thought back to when he smashed him with his giant foot _That was awesome._

"He said that he sold that teddy bear she loved so much to a witch."

"You want to get it back to her?"

Finn nodded and put the phone up "I know what your thinking, why didnt I tell you that I was ok. It's because you had a family to look after, I couldnt tip you off in any way, you might have tried to come here, but after what Bonnibel did I guess it doesnt matter anymore, how does she live with herself?"

"It's fine, I understand but that book is my only ticket back in to see rainicorn and Jane." He thought that might be a problem in the future, but until then his focus was on saving the kingdom he was ready but knew that Finn was worried no matter how hard he tried to hide it Jake always knew when his best friend was trobeled by something.

"Hey Finn once this Fire kingdom bis is over we should go on a real adventure."

"That sounds amazing, endless possibilities we could look for billy or dad, maybe see how everyone in the rest of the land is doing? But first I need to study the ancient Fire Language I promised Flame I would." Jake scratched his head in confusion, Finn quickly explained his and Flame's dreams together.

"How is that possible?" he questioned.

pulling out Flame's ashes and hugging them he responded "I think it has something to do with this."

Jake gave him a skeptical look "Do either of you feel just the slightest bit weird about this?"

Finn shrugged "Why should we? We made up to step two and nearly destroyed all of OOO, a bag of ashes that let us be with each other in never-ending darkness is pretty normal if you ask me. The best part is the first time I saw there she somehow put her fire in my heart, now I can do this." Finn transformed into a fire elemental and grinned at him.

"That explains why everyone calls you Finn the hybrid now, make sure to slap the ice king again if he gives you a hard time." Jake started to laugh at his own joke.

Finn laughed with him "Ok, come on if we're going to face hell the least we can do is greet it with smiles." they both left the room making their way outside the castle telling more jokes the whole time, opening the large castle entrance doors they were welcomed by almost all of the citizens who cheered his name.


	8. Flame war

Every citizen had been drenched in grease to shield them from any source of water that the gang might have, after all if grease gets hot enough it catches fire, throwing water on it does no good unfortunately the same can't be said about fire extinguisher and Flambo made sure that the king knew both sides had plenty of it, that did not mean that they would not take losses but many of them felt more comfortable knowing that they stood a fighting chance.

Finn knew they would win because they had one thing that the gang didn't, The Ice King with him they would tear through the enemy's ranks and finally restore order to the kingdom, but Finn had to be the one to take down their leaders, the king made him a symbol of hope for the kingdom and he already stopped them once.

"I knew I should have executed them when I had the chance." the king said when he heard that his two nephews had escaped and formed the gang that was capable of toppling his rule. His son Scorcher never liked them either and wanted nothing more than to end their lives but the king would not allow it, not until his daughter left and caused mass panic within the city leaving the infernal torment gang a perfect opportunity to take over.

Finn looked down the steps at the chairs that the king and others sat in there was an empty seat in between Marceline and the ice king Jake clapped Finn on the back and walked over to the empty chair. Finn walked down in front of the citizens with the others to his back, looking down the streets he saw catapults with chunks of ice fastened in them and wheels so troops could push them forward, Ballistas (Which Scorcher explained were like giant crossbows) with large extremely thick spears that shot up into the sky and came down on enemies from far distances.

Finn was still in his fire form, _They might be more encouraged if they see me like this _he took a deep breath apprehensive to start, it wasnt even the speech he was worried about, it was the fact that so many would die and he would be leading it all _Scorcher and Flambo have the easy job go behind enemy lines while their all distracted and destroy all of the hideouts and head quarters. _"Wish me luck Flame." he whispered under his breath.

He started "Citizens, Friends, Brothers and Sisters of this strong Kingdom!" Finn's booming voice rang as they quieted down unsure what he was saying he continued "Our princess may have left us but we will never show the enemy fear, this gang thinks they can walk up to the castle and overthrow our king? Prove them wrong! Ask yourselves what would your ancestors do? I understand that our king has tried to portray me as some sort of immortal knight, the truth is I'm no different than any of you." he lifted his shirt up and showed them the hole in his stomach "This scar is the mark of my mortality, I am no god, but I will fight until my last breath to protect my home as should all of you! LETS SHOW THEM THE STRENGTH OF THE FIRE KINGDOM!"

_That was a terrible speech I need to work on that _Finn thought as everyone cheered he manipulated his fire and shot it skyward something that only he and the king could do then he moved it passed the one-thousand citizens making fireworks that exploded and showed ancient fire language symbols. Moving up to the front lines, Jake, the fire king, Marceline and the ice king followed up after him Scorcher and Flambo had already left to take out the hideouts and head quarters.

"Not a very good speech was it?" he asked, they all shook their heads. "It doesn't matter, I just want to get this over with." Finn ran down the abandoned street _Ambush I bet, probably hiding on the rooftops and inside buildings. _Something happened that no one could have predicted an extremely loud roar echoed throughout the kingdom, despair overwhelmed Finn he heard screams of terror behind him and he noticed his ears were bleeding, looking up he saw what he hoped wasnt what he thought it was.

It was a skeleton of a dragon with dead green glowing eyes flying high from the other end of the city, twice the size of the one billy fought. "LICH DRAGON!" Finn shouted out even though he knew no one heard him _Now what!? I can't give orders if they can't hear me, and going up to them personally will take to long! _Despair renewed itself inside him as he drew his sword, the enemy was indeed on the rooftops and inside the buildings, they showed themselves and burst through the doors charging at Finn.

***Meanwhile with Scorcher and Flambo***

A tremor shook the floor of the underground bunker that Scorcher and Flambo were rigging with detonation bombs "What was that?" Scorcher whispered while looking up at the rock ceiling. Flambo continued to work on the settings of the explosive that he planted behind a cabinet, the bag of the others close to his side "Forget about it, let them handle whatever is up there, just keep watch." he whispered back. A few short minutes passed and he was finished.

"One down eight more to go." He told Scorcher proudly opening a door over to his right that led to the city sewers he was still amazed by the gang's cunning "Hard to believe these were down here all this time without his majesty knowing." Flambo and Scorcher started to swiftly move down the sewer to the next hidden bunker.

"Yeah" Scorcher agreed "I really wish there was a less risky way to do this, once the bombs detonate the city's foundation will become unstable the sewers are not that deep under the city. The king better have a plan for everyone or everything we do will be for nothing."

Flambo sighed "Same here, the city is more than likely to fall but you know as well as I do that the castle is completely protected from collateral damage its been that way since it was first created." Those words seemed to ease Scorcher's mind a little, Flambo added "You're a real nerd you know that?"

Scorcher laughed and retorted "I'd rather be a smartass then a dumbass." They continued on to the next one.

***Back in the city***

Finn could not hear anything except for the roars from the dragon _despair, despair and agony two of the Lich's pets _Finn thought as he jammed his sword into a gang member's neck this one like all the rest was fully clad in steel armor which would have made it impossible to tell who was a citizen and a gang member if not for the Fire kingdom symbols indented all over the citizens armor. Jake was at the next street over to his left.

Jake grew huge and was slamming his fists on the enemy sure it burned him but he was almost certain that getting crushed like an ant hurt more than a burn wound. He also swatted down the archers who were on the rooftops they were more deadly than the ground troops. The only thing that bothered him was the fact that the dragon had a clear shot at him if he wanted to take it, but Jake would get in the way if he shrunk down to his normal size. Marceline was at the street over to his left.

Marceline pounded back her depression and started hacking gang members left and right they seemed more like a militia then a gang to her. Once she killed enough of them she put her axe up and started to create a bloodmist cloud, a very deadly weapon that shot a beam out of it which annihilated anyone it touched the more she killed the bigger it grew. All the way over to Finn's right the Ice king was fighting too.

The Ice King flew down the street zapping as many of the poor defenseless fire elementals as he could, well not entirely defenseless but they stood no chance against him. He laughed to himself (But could not hear it) and soared high into the sky, scratching his beard snowflakes started to fall on top of them causing them to become sick and drop to the ground. Back to the front of the castle the Fire king was trying to stop the dragon.

The Fire king watched as the dragon moved up from the other side of the city _That stupid dog is gonna get it _he thought as he fired a catapult and ballista at the skeleton of a dragon it quickly angled its way out of the giant ice chunk but the spear by some miracle hit it dead on in the eye. It let out an even louder roar that filled everyone with even more despair, as evil as the king was he felt proud of his subjects for standing their own ground even with that _Thing _out there. It focused its attention on the castle now. _Shit...That just pissed it off. _He was not worried about the castle nothing could bring it down except the Lich himself but certainly not some cheap knock off of its power.

The battle was going better than expected they were pushing the enemy back and charging forward. Finn made some hand movements and a ninja ice star appeared in his hand instead of throwing it at an enemy he threw it past Jake's head to get his attention, Jake looked at Finn and he reminded him about the ice ninja moves by doing the same hand movements and making trillions of ice stars fire out and hit their adversaries.

Jake did the same but his were four times bigger and sliced right through armor like butter. Once he finished clearing out his street he looked back over at Finn but saw only a dogpile of gang members where he used to be, all of the men on Finn's street had been killed, he rushed over to him but by the time he got there a big puffy white cloud burst from out of nowhere and made a big mushroom shape, it took him a minute to realize that it was fire extingisher.

Finn got up, he was in his human form now and started wiping off the foam that he was covered in. He reached into his adventure pack and handed Jake some jumbo sized fire extinguisher bombs. The sky began to get darker, they looked up hoping the dragon was not looming over them, it wasnt but they would get wet as millions of water balloons pelted them and everyone else even the king got hit but as luck would have it the grease had not burned off of them yet.

_Fire kingdom: two, infernal torment: zero _Finn thought as the water evaporated off of the guards and citizens _Still that would have killed everyone if not for the king's idea for extra defense. _Another roar emerged from the dragon that sent the next fresh wave of despair through everyone _Ok that dragon is toast! _Finn thought still unable to hear anything he was used to the feeling now and would not let it affect him as much as it did when it first screamed.

Marceline had just finished clearing out her street and was stretching out when Finn flew over to her back in his fire form, he pointed up to the sky for her to follow him, as they got up above the buildings the Lich dragon was ramming himself through houses and skyscrapers _Now how do we kill it? _He remembered what Billy did to Agony _Cut off its wings, but then it might just tear through our ground troops, it's not perfect but if enough of us attack it at once it may fall or retreat, Billy also had an energy gauntlet but a bloodmist cloud should be a good substitute._

He pointed at her cloud and then the dragon, she nodded and understood what to do. Finn drew his sword again and they rushed at it. The Fire king gestured with his hands for the troops with Fire extinguisher rockets to advance down the streets. He moved back to the table behind him which had a map on it and a holographic one that showed what his subjects were doing, his city was different compared to all the rest in the land of OOO it was perfectly made up in a large square with perfect blocks that made it easy to go down any street and quickly move back to another. Both sides abused the hell out of that advantage and it never failed them.

_Scorcher and Flambo better be done soon, I don't think the tide of battle will stay in our favor for much longer._

***Back in the sewers***

Flambo had just finished planting the seventh explosive and Scorcher killed his twentyth oppenet he was drenched in blood. "Now let's get that last bunker and then the headquarters and get out of here." Opening the door that lead to the next part of the sewer he and Flambo ran to the final bunker "I still don't get why we even have a sewer in the first place, it's not like we use water that much anyway."

Flambo put a hand on his face and responded "First of all we use toilets unless somehow you found a way to stop going, second the king likes to keep the city as similar to others as possible." he pushed open the door that led to the last bunker and began to set the bomb Scorcher waited about seven minutes and Flambo was done "Now where is the headquarters?" he asked Scorcher.

"Under a mountain outside the city." Flambo laughed "You said you were a smartass, not a dumbass, the real headquarters is under the castle below the dungeons."

Scorcher scratched his head and said back "Whatever, lets just go."


	9. Prince, Hitman, and Doctor?

Marceline and Finn had managed to cut off the Lich dragon's wings, they watched as it hurled to the ground slamming into another house, without giving it any time to recover Finn swooped down and stabbed its good eye. It twitched and tried to hit Finn with its barbed tail only to have him duck and hit itself in the face, clearly furious it let out a bellow of pain and despair. Marceline had her bloodmist cloud focused on the dragon as every second passed the beams that shot out caused the dragons bones to crack and deteriorate.

Finn had a crazy idea that he knew would work seeing as every other crazy idea he had worked, running into a nearby house he found chains amidst the rubble and destroyed appliances. He ran out with it and wrapped it around the dragons mouth and neck then gestured for Marceline to hold on to it. She came up to take it as the dragon began to squirm but stopped once he realized he was just speeding up the process and making the cracks deeper. Finn ran to its tail and with all of his might cut it off. He knew it would scream out again but this time it hardly mattered since its mouth was full of cold hard metal chains.

Picking up the tail Finn ran towards a guard who was coming down the street and handed him the tail then reached back into his adventure pack and pulled out a notebook and pen wrote something on it and ripped out the sheet of paper and gave it to him as well. The second the paper was in his hand it caught on fire and was reduced to ashes that flew up in the air, Finn gave the guard an annoyed look then took the tail back and put it in his pack along with his other items. _We don't have time for this! I need to know what these dragons deal is _he thought while watching the guard with a flaming spear run down the street.

Marceline waited with a bored look on her face for Finn to come back thinking about depressing things and about which one of them Finn truly loved _Does he still have a thing for Bonnibel? I thought he wasnt my type...Not until I saw him take down that monster but he loves Flame princess I would be no better than bubblegum if I tried to be with him. I just need to stop flirting with him especially since Flame can see it all..._

Jake was tired and just wanted to take that stupid book back to that cursed tyrant so he could be with his family and settle down _Will I ever retire from adventuring? Or will this endless Lich conflict be the death of me? So many problems...This war we are fighting is just one of them, theirs still a Lich dragon to take care of after we kill this one and Finn wants to go on a goose chase for Marceline's old teddy bear, then after that he wants to find billy and dad, we still have to stop bubblegum, and on top of all that the Lich will more than likely rise to power...Stop you know you love it, besides who else would do it Flambo? Not likely. _Jake couldn't complain forever especially since if he stopped adventuring he would put his friends and family at greater risk.

The ice king was almost to the other side of the city he had every advantage over the enemy and did not hesitate to us them. _As soon as I'm finished here im gonna ask Marceline if she wants to hang out she'll just say go away I bet but im still gonna try. _He continued to freeze anyone in his path.

The fire king started barking orders to his men and they began to hear again "THE NEXT WAVE IS COMMING!" He shouted out over the blare of the rockets and sounds the seige weapons made. Huge chunks of ice were still being hurled from both sides and almost all of the guards were dead. _Hurry Flambo! _The king looked at the detonation device he held in his hand, it had two medium-sized buttons one to activate the bombs and one to turn them off.

Finn went back to Marceline and told her to get on the dragons back and find the ice king so the two of them could flank the enemy. "You got it, _hero._" she said back trying to get in the habit of not being to friendly _I've gone soft... But I can still kill in a heartbeat. _she thought while steering the dragon down the ice kings way.

_They must have at least one more trick up their sleeve _Finn pondered as he started hacking and slashing at the next wave on his street some thirty or forty gang members, taking on about seven at a time he used every sword maneuver he knew and whenever he was overwhelmed by them there was a fire extinguisher bomb to pull him out of the fire, so to speak.

Scorcher and Flambo were on the gang's side of Finn's street thankful that there was no one around them they rushed down and began to kill the mob that Finn was fighting all Scorcher had to do was take their heads and push them down then thrust his sword through their exposed necks. Flambo did what he could which was not much but he still managed to climb up a few unfortunate souls armor and bite them in the neck.

A few minutes later the trio had taken down the wave and explained their situations to one another. "We lost at least 100 men but the Lich dragon as been taken care of, I'm certain that they're planning something else but what?"

"It doesn't matter right now we ne-" Scorcher was interrupted by what felt like an earthquake "I thought you took care of the drag-" the earth below them shook again and Finn exclaimed. "Look up there!" while pointing at the far back of the city where a giant Cyclopes five times the size of a fully grown Cyclopes had emerged from behind two mountains. As it stomped its way towards them making the earth tremble, holding in its hands a club with three large nails stuck in it and an enormous hammer it had a red glow around itself and a bloodshot eye.

_How did they get that! Ok time for a change of plans _Finn looked at them and flew up screaming "Retreat! Fall back to the castle NOW!" he didn't have to repeat himself as everyone ran to the castle Marceline had to get off of the dragon since it wanted to fight the Cyclopes and refused to move.

"It's your funeral dude!" She said while flying away watching it get crushed by a foot the size of Jake. (Who was still huge) "Hurry Marc!" He commanded as he grabbed her hand and ran over to Flambo and Scorcher. Picking up Flambo he put him on top of his hat then grabbed Scorcher's wrist and flew up with the three of them asking them to help get Jake and the ice king back in the castle.

The Cyclopes was walking down the streets, a two street gap between its two feet as it took one step at a time making sure not to hit the buildings for some reason.

Once the six of them were inside the castle and they were sure everyone left was in they made their way over to the king. Finn snatched the detonation device out of his hand and asked Flambo if the last bomb was activated.

He shook his head "No not yet but what are you doing?" Finn told them his plan to set the bombs off and kill the Cyclopes. They all agreed but the city would need to be rebuilt, looks like Scorcher was right after all but even if they stopped the Cyclopes Finn still had to kill the king's nephews.

He transformed back into a human then walked over to the front door and set off the bombs watching the ground and buildings shake, the Cyclopes laughed and looked at his feet as he sank through along with all the buildings most of them falling over in every direction glass and metal rained down as a skyscraper fell on top of him a few minutes passed and he was buried under all of the wreckage.

_Simple as that?_ Finn questioned then told Marceline "If that thing gets back up take that last bomb and throw it in its mouth no way it could survive an implosion, understand?"

"I don't take orders from you _hero_, but you're right, what will you be doing?" She asked while watching Finn walk down the hallway heading for the dungeons with his sword drawn.

"I need to repay some _executioners_ and set things right, maybe then there will be some peace for everyone." He looked at the sword in his right hand then his blood soaked left hand _How much blood was spilt for the sake of peace? How many lives have I taken? How many more will I have to take? Everyone in this kingdom is evil...But that still doesn't make this right._

Scorcher ran up to his side and before Finn could tell him to go he said "Lets do this together, I need to face them too."

They kept walking on "I thought you hated them?" Scorcher sighed "I do but they're still my family, we were close friends when my dad's brother was still king, everything changed once he stabbed him in the back and took the throne for himself, they fought with me all the time after that even pulled weapons on me. I tried to reason with them...The outcome was horrible to say the least."

"I'm guessing you beat them within an inch of their lives?" Scorcher nodded "I thought that would have been the end of it, but then you and your dog pulled that stunt at the theater and saved my dad from having ice poured into his ears."

They went down a set of stairs and continued down another hallway. "Is that why you cured my blood infection?" He nodded again "The king had a plan for you and after I found out you saved him I was more than happy to help, however I couldn't help but be furious with you when Me-Mow told me my sister died and that you were the cause of it."

"But you almost killed me." They turned a corner and went down more stairs that lead to another hallway _This place is bigger than I thought _"You gotta remember I'm still a hitman, things didn't help when I was told you lived, stuff like that goes on my record. But I wouldn't have actually killed you."

Finn scratched his head "I still don't get why you became a hitman if you're a prince." He shrugged "I saw innocent people die for crimes they did not commit, too many got away with murder, eventually I just got tired of it and killed bad people made a name for myself, unfortunately for the right price I would be willing to kill anyone and believe me I've tried to stop."

They were almost to the door as Finn asked his last question. "How did you cure me?" Finn was sure Scorcher was blushing but he had no way of knowing with that mask over his head and mouth "I...I went to medical school, learned about all sorts of different ways to cure all sorts of different people."

"Did you want to be a doctor?" He stared at his feet and replied "I wanted to get closer to doctor princess..." Finn was silent and waited to see if he still wanted to talk or not. "She always giggled when she saw me and I accidentally made a fool of myself whenever she monitored me operating, no one got hurt but after two years of being a loser in her eyes I just retired and became a hitman. Thats when I saw how evil people can really be."

"Do you still like her or have you considered others?" Scorcher thought for a moment then said "Your friend Marceline is way more evil than you would think, I mean now she's all depressed and sweet but years ago if you saw her walking down the road you'd turn tail and run for your life. I heard word from one of my contacts that her dad is dying, she needs someone to be there for her when he does pass away."

Finn opened the door and they entered the dungeons _Ok somewhere below here is the gangs headquarters. _Finn stopped to think "I can't do it, my heart belongs to Flame princess...Literally, I think you two would look good together, and its clear she wants to be more than friends with me but I just can't."

"Lets drop this for now, we need to find them before they escape." He responded dismissively. The two started opening cells and looking for anything that looked like a hatch or disturbed brick of stone. "Make sure to look under the beds princess." Scorcher advised from some other cell. "Will you stop calling me that!" Finn retorted as he dropped to the ground to do what he said.

Scorcher laughed "I'll stop if you can beat me in the arena." An idea formed in Finn's mind "Deal." He told him quickly while moving to the next cell. _He can't beat me in my fire form _"Oh and you have to stay a human." He added and started to laugh again when he heard Finn groan.

They went from one cell to the next noticing how the further down they went the more blood they saw "Weird..."

"What?" Scorcher asked. "There isn't a single prisoner here...Do you smell...Corpses?" Finn started to feel cold and the stench of blood and death didn't help ease his goose bumps.

"My dad killed them before we attacked." Scorcher explained. "Typical." _Of course his majesty would pull a cheap trick like that. _Scorcher snapped him out of his thoughts and pointed to a cell that had a mountain of dead bodies in it. "I bet the hatch is in that one." He opened it and a couple of bodies fell on him. Scorcher picked them up and tossed them aside as if they were trash.

"Oh Glob!" Finn cried out and vomited, then he backed away until he felt the bars from the cell across hit his adventure pack, sliding down until he was sitting on the ground with shaking hands he reached into his pack and pulled out a large bottle of water. Breathing heavily he took a few sips then felt something on his right shoulder looking up he saw a dead man's hand then another cell full of dead bodies.

Scorcher had been pulling more dead people out of the cell when he heard Finn scream out again "Just try to-" he was cut off as he felt water being flung all over his back. apparently Finn bolted up and dropped his large water bottle causing some of it to hit Scorcher. "Pick it up!" He exclaimed but Finn froze up and didnt move, spilled water reached his feet before he could get out of the way.

_Dammit! _Scorcher fell to the floor and tried to move away but his feet hurt to much and he could not move his arms, his shoulders hurt just as much as his feet, making his arms useless. "Princess!" Finn found control of his own body again and saw the pool of water that fell out of its bottle travel over to a helpless Scorcher. Droping down on his stomach on top of it his shirt absorbed it all a split second before it reached Scorcher.

Finn looked at him with guilt "Sorry I kinda lost it and junk..." Scorcher let out a long sigh of relief "Thanks...Never thought you'd save my life today." Finn got up "Will you stop calling me princess now?"

"I would but we made a deal." Scorcher tried to laugh but it was hard what with him about to die ten seconds ago. Finn rolled his eyes "Can you move?"

"Not really, do you have any medical supplies in the bag?" Finn dumped everything out in front of him, but nothing in his pack could be used to help Scorcher. Finn put everything up and remembered that he could use the ancient Fire language to heal him.

A few words and symbols later, Scorcher was back on his feet but just barely. "Will you still be able to fight?" Finn asked concerned for his friends current state. "Yeah I'll be fine, if you need some air you should head back up I can take care of things from here."

"No way! Thanks for the offer but trouble finds us no matter what we do." Finn waved his hand at the empty bottle then kicked it across the room. "Fair enough." Scorcher began to pull more dead out of the cell. Finn felt disgusted with himself but he followed Scorchers example and started pulling bodies out of the cell across from his. It was almost to much for his poor thirteen year old mind to handle.

He even had to stop a couple of times to dry his eyes before Scorcher caught him crying. _STOP IT! _He would always tell himself _Falling apart wont bring these people back and it certainly wont save those who still are alive _Once he finished clearing out the cell he put his hands down and started feeling for the hatch.

Scorcher finished his too and did the same, he found the handle over by the left corner of the room. "Found it."

Finn rushed over to his side and drew his sword "You ready?" He asked Scorcher. "Yeah." Grunting in pain he reached back and got his sword and shield ready. Opening the hatch Finn asked again "Are you sure you can fight?"

He looked down inside the hole that lead to the Headquarters "I need to do this princess, if I die then so be it but I wont sit here and let them get away with this."

Finn was silent for a moment "Then you better not die." Scorcher looked at him as Finn added "I still need to beat you in the Arena."

He laughed "You'll never beat me princess." Then went down the ladder with Finn following him.

***Meanwhile with Princess Bubblegum***

With her diary in her lap she sat up out of bed _I must have cried myself to sleep _Bubblegum looked at her clock it was three in the afternoon _Seven hours?! I've been asleep for seven hours! _She panicked and threw her diary under her pillow then ran to her mirror and straightened her hair and dress.

She rushed to the door and flung it open, continuing on she nearly fell over as she tripped on a sleeping Peppermint Butler. He bolted up and exclaimed "Forgive me princess!" Then bowed and dusted himself off. "What were you doing in front of my door?!" She demanded in her cold voice. "You did not dismiss me princess."

"Whatever! I'm behind schedule now and need to ask you something." She kept walking fast to her throne with him following behind. He was used to following her around everywhere ever since she killed Flame princess.

"You have my apologies princess, but what would you like to ask?" She opened the door that revealed the throne and swiftly sat down on it. "You are friends with death right?" He gulped not liking where this was going. "Yes princess..." His worst fears were comming to life, he knew the Lich would come back one day and he also knew that he left a tiny part of himself inside Bubblegum.

_But why? I don't know what he is planning but obviously the princess plays a big part of it. I have no idea how to get him out of her and telling Finn seemed pointless. I didn't tell her because I was afraid that the Lich would kill her if she tried to get him out herself. But now he broke her...I think._

"Then I need you to grant me an audience with him as soon as possible." She snapped her fingers and pointed to one of her servants "You! give me this weeks list of complaints!" Peppermint tried to say something but she spoke before him "Get me a cup of coffee!" she ordered him.

He shook his head the second he turned around and was about to get it when Treetrunks and the pig came in with urgent looks on their faces. "Afternoon." she greeted peppermint then walked up to the princess. "Peppermint." The pig added as he followed her.

Bubblegum looked up from her list and glared at Treetrunks who managed to meet her gaze "Do you think yourselves so important that you can just waltz in here without requesting a-" Treetrunks dared to cut her off and retorted "Listen here _sugar _we have important information on FINN THE HUMAN that you will want to hear!"

Bubblegum quickly bottled up her rage and tried to look surprised "What news?" she asked in a curious tone of voice.

"Well my sweetheart." She smiled at the pig and kept going "Was helpin me make an apple pie when we heard someone or _something _knocking on our door."

The pig snorted and cleared his throat "I told her that Id get it." A long completely silent minute passed.

"Then?" Bubblegum asked.

"Then what?" The pig asked back.

"What happened next?!" She asked again not bothering to hide her annoyance with him.

"Oh yeah! I told her that Id get it, then I did..."

Bubblegum was getting tired of this game. "I think I'll tell her the story honey."

He laughed "Yeah you always were the smart one."

Treetrunks blushed and looked at the ground "Oh you."

Then she returned her attention to Bubblegum. "Anyways he answered it but there was no one there just a video tape that said Finn's disappearance on it. We popped it into the tv and could have sworn he heard that cute little robot of his. What was his name? B-MORE? B-GROW? B.M.O.? Yeah we thought we heard his voice but what we saw on the video was just awful."

"What was on it?" Bubblegum demanded.

"Finn...He was all beat up. Some bad man hurt that poor boy, There was even a hole in his body, and he was drenched in some sort of black ink like liquid...Im afraid to think that it was blood but it looked just like it. He was flying someone who was all red was carrying his unconscious body and they were in the Fire kingdom. But the tape ended after that and we heard the robot scream in pain and a voice say thought you should know where to find him."

"But the strange thing is the video had a date on it, princess this tape is nine months old! The same day Finn went missing! We need to get him!" Treetrunks finished.

"I will take care of it when Im ready!" She shouted at them. This was all old news to her she was well aware of where Finn was but she did not dare to try and bring him back with all the forces he had to back him up. Treetrunks and the pig stared at her shocked. The pig spoke up "Well you can do that, but we are going to find our friend."

They tried to leave But the guards got in front of them. "Oh no your not! You two are under arrest!" Bubblegum ordered her guards to restrain them. "For what?!" Treetrunks struggled to get loose.

"For aid in the murder of Finn the human! You two will serve a life sentence" She had her guards take them to the dungeon. Then she turned on Peppermint. "Now you have two choices you can get me a cup of coffee and work on getting me an audience with death, OR you can join them in the dungeon and work on getting me an audience with death AND hope I don't torture you!"

Peppermint Butler sighed "Yes princess your coffee will be here in a few minutes." He bowed and left the room. _Finally! now I need to make sure the other kingdoms still think that Finn is dead. If the Fire king is smart he will make sure his subjects dont tell anyone that Finn is alive as well. Ok time to look over this list..._ She began to read again.


	10. Champion

Finn and Scorcher made their way down the ladder that would lead them either to their deaths or the salvation of the Fire kingdom. Fearing the worst Finn changed back into his fire form _Cant be too careful. _Scorcher told him about how dangerous they were _Cold blooded, or in this case hot-blooded killers does not even begin to describe them!_

The two planted their feet on the ground and found themselves in a small crampt room with one door. Finn glanced at Scorcher once again still afraid that his wounds would cripple him in battle. He knew that his spell did not completely heal his friend, especially since his eyes wrote pain all over them. "Try and take it easy in there, let me do most of the fighting." He told him almost in a pleading voice.

"I can handle myself, let me take point." He began to get in front of Finn but was pushed back "Dump that hot mess, I learned from the best, I'll go in first." He heard Scorcher say "Do what you want choose goose." As he pushed the door open and realized the rhyme he made _I guess I did kinda sound like choose goose for a minute. _A small smile appeared on Finn's face but immediately vanished the second he saw what was in the room.

A vast emptiness greeted them in a room with gold beams and other fancy looking decorations. At the far end were two throne like seats with two brothers standing up, one of them had a large glass mug and finished drinking whatever was in it.

Finn noticed the Bartender that always served them their rounds was at the side of the one with the mug. He turned towards the bartender and screamed "Dammit! You sssaid those dead bodiesss would deter them leaving usss a chance to essscape!" The bartender coward and in a scared shaking voice replied "I- I didn't know th- that he would br- bring Scor- Scorcher with him..."

The one with the mug let out a bellow of rage and took his glass and slammed it into the bartenders face causing it to shatter and send him down to the ground. getting on one knee he grabbed the poor man by the back of his fiery hair and jerked him up, hundreds of cuts were on his face and his nose was broken. He threw him down making him land on his back then began to punch him in the face repeatedly, saying between each hit.

"You...Wortlessss...Piece...of...garbage..." A large pool of blood ossed out of his victim's head as the psychopath got up and drew the sword he had sheathed in its scabbard. Ignoring the sharp glass chips that littered the floor around his barefeet he started to charge after Finn but was held back by his brother.

"Look at them, they're covered in enough blood to turn the ocean red!" He scolded and pulled him in his seat. Finn's goosebumps crept up on him again as he heard the cursed word _Ocean _and the thought of it being covered in blood doubled his fear.

Scorcher clapped him on the shoulder "Stay focused." Finn nodded and returned his attention to the murderers who were arguing. "We're gonna die down here! Ssscorcher alwaysss beat usss at fighting even when our father wasss alive!"

"Your drunk! We can do this, we've become stronger than them, but only if we stick together!" He glared hard at Scorcher. "Your false king has found another puppet has he?"

Jestering at Finn "I guess we should be thanking you after you thwarted our plan to assassinate the false king he trapped us in the only safe place he could hide."

Finn finished for him "Leaving you guys the perfect chance to plot your revenge, but I'm guessing you didn't count on me comming back, thought Scorcher would have killed me? Well the king might not be the best ruler in the world but he was smart enough to ask for my help!"

The drunk one hissed at Finn and retorted "You had to ssshow the people _love _and _compassssion _and teach them to ssstand up to usss! We would have finally been able to kill that falsssse king and rule the way our father did! There would have been no way Ssscorcher could take on our entire gang plusss usss at the sssame time!"

A smug look crossed Finn's face "But now you two have lost everything! You betrayed your own kingdom-"

"YOU BETRAYED IT, YOU CAUSED THE PRINCESS TO CHASE AFTER YOU AND CREATE MASS PANIC IN THE CITY. SURE YOU CAME BACK TO GET HER SCENTED CANDLES AND PUT A STOP TO US INSIDE THE CASTLE WHERE THE NOBLES WATCHED PLAYS! I MEAN WHY WOULD THEY CARE ABOUT THE CHAOS IN THE CITY, THEY HAD HUNDREDS OF GUARDS TO PROTECT THEM!"

Finn tried to ask about why they did not send for help but couldn't as he continued on. "THEY DID NOT CARE IF THE POORER PEOPLE LIVED OR DIED, THOSE WHO TRIED TO GET HELP DIED BEFORE THEY GOT OUT OF THE KINGDOM, YOUR FALSE KING TRIED IN VAIN TO STOP THE CARNAGE! BY THE WAY DID YOU KNOW ONCE YOU SENT FLAME PRINCESS THOSE CANDLES HE STARTED WHISPERING EVIL THINGS TO HER IN HER SLEEP?!"

Finn had always wondered why she threw them out the same night he brought them to her, he never asked her because he knew there was a good reason for it and if she did not want to tell him then he would not pester her over it. He had mixed feelings over this whole series of conflicts, guilt being the major one he felt guilty for killing so many people even more for letting a lot of innocence die.

Scorcher grunted and got in his fighting stance "Ignore them princess, lets finish what we started." Finn did the opposite and ignored Scorcher as the drunk one spoke up "You think you can change her? Just like you _changed _princessss Bubblegum... Your a terrible perssson you claim to be a hero but herosss dont let the innocent down, they dont kill and call themselvesss men of peace!"

"Princess!" Scorcher shook Finn's shoulder but he just stared at the ground _I'm no hero... I did let them down... I can't change anyone... _He had the urge to curl up in a ball and cry like he always did whenever he felt completely helpless.

The two brothers charged after him and would have cut off his head if not for Scorcher yelling out "FINN" and knocking him back making him fall to the ground. Scorcher raised his shield and blocked both of the blades that came at him. Reacting quickly he stabbed the drunk one in his right ankle before he could step back.

scrambling for his sword that he dropped when he fell, he heard the clatter of blades hitting metal. _I can do this! _He thought determined not to let anyone down ever again. wrapping his hand around the blade he got up and threw himself in the battle alongside Scorcher who was having a hard time fending them off.

Finn made an attempt to stab the drunk one in the face only to have him duck and kick him in what ice king called the boingloings. Finn nearly fell down again as some of the worst pain he ever felt filled his body. _ok...Scorcher can slam his foot on my stomach wound any day, just don't kick me there for the love of glob! _Thinking about how no amount of magic armor could have protected him from a cheap shot like that, he balanced himself and resumed his attack.

Making it seem like he was about to swing at his head the drunk one braced himself for Finn's next move, but Finn faked it and put a foot around his leg causing him to fall. Without giving him a second to recover Finn brought his blade down on the drunk fools chest or tried as his enemy rolled out of the way but not before he got cut on the shoulder. Meanwhile Scorcher was knocking back his adversary.

The drunk one got up and screamed out "I'm done playing around!" and charged at him once again. This time like the last he made another clumsy mistake. Trying to slash his sword hand but to no success was a move that cost him his balance yet again. Falling down he brought his knees up and thrust his feet at Finn's stomach knocking the wind out of him.

_Damn! _Finn fell down on his back as the drunk one got up and tossed his shield aside then did the same with his sword. trying as hard as he could to catch his breath he felt his family sword being kicked out of his hand sliding several feet away from them. Getting down on Finn's stomach the drunk one began to strangle him.

"I will kill you with my bare handsss!" He hissed increasing his grip around the poor boy's neck. Finn put his hands around the killers wrists in a futile attempt to stop him. Not only did the drunk one have him beat in size but in raw strength as well.

Scorcher looked back trying to get to him before he died, but his enemy took advantage of his distraction and swung his weapon at Scorchers feet, but Scorcher remembered him trying that same move years ago and countered his attack by taking a small leap back and bashing his shield against his enemy's followed by a slash to his exposed knee cap.

Scorchers attack landed giving him just a split second to break away and rush towards Finn, his hopes of helping were put to an unexpected halt when the drunk one said "Dont move another inch or I'll sssnap hisss neck!" He warned as he enjoyed every second of Finn's slow suffocation.

Furious with himself and concerned for the boy Scorcher was forced to return his attention to his enemy. _Come on Finn! Why dont you manipulate your flame and escape? _Scorcher thought and parried the sword that came his way. _He probably can't without any air, he's to exhausted. _Thinking back to all the fighting he did in the city or the rubble that used to be the city anyway.

Finn saw darkness crepping in on his vision as he felt himself slipping from his life. _Maybe now I can be with Flame princess._ He entertained as he remembered all of his friends. Jake growing huge and smushing him in annoyance for his joke about saying "Hey zelnut". The Ice King bursting into their bedroom with Scorcher chasing after him. Marceline putting that belt... _THE BELT! She put my dagger on the belt!_

With what little strength he still had Finn released his hands and brought his right hand around the hilt of the dagger, with almost completely shut eyes he let out his final burst of energy and brought the dagger out and immediately jammed it into the side of the laughing killers head.

He freed his hands and fell over to his side, giving Finn the chance to take a deep breath. Hot blood gushed out of the bastard who nearly killed him and touched his left arm. "Gotta...help...Scorch..." He panted while rolling over on his stomach and began to crawl towards his sword.

With his darkened vision going back to normal he started to chant in the ancient fire language hoping to heal himself in whatever way possible but he barely managed to recover enough to stand up. picking up his sword he turned to see Scorcher fighting on his last legs too.

_You did good kid... You did good. _He thought and dodged a thrust. Caught off guard his enemy swirved behind him and pinned him down on his knees. Bringing his blade up to Scorchers neck, he tried to slit his throat but was cut short as Scorcher pushed himself forward and flipped his enemy over him.

Scorcher had him pinned down now but his sword hand was still free and he frantically stabbed him in the back as many times as he possible could. "Hurry Finn!" He grunted and continued to hold him down refusing to give in. Finn limped as fast as he could toward them watching his friend get stabbed over and over again.

He made it to them as Scorcher got hit on his most sensitive wound his shoulders and fell over giving Finn a look of sorrow knowing full well that they would all die down in this empty grave. Tears slid down his cheeks as he stabbed Scorcher's enemy in the face killing him instantly.

Droping his sword he changed back to normal and collapsed next to Scorcher's body feeling traumatized from the gruesome battle that nearly cost him his life. with eyes closed Finn tried to picture Flame princess comforting him but with what he witnessed just seconds ago the only image that formed in his head was Scorcher falling over and him slowly losing his life.

"We did it." Finn sniveled and looked at his half dead friend. Blood painted the floor surrounding him while he wept. _Maybe he can still be saved. _He desperately tried to find out if he still had a heartbeat, he did but it was faint and about to stop. Chanting quickly Finn managed to stop the bleeding and heard his heartbeat recover a tiny bit.

_Yes! just hold on! We CAN make it out! _Finn drained himself completely trying to the best of his ability to keep healing Scorcher but with almost no success. _Wheres Flambo when you need him! _Running ideas on how to save him through his head Finn quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out both his and the ice king's cell phones. Searching through the contacts Finn called Marceline on the Ice kings banana phone but couldnt get a signal underground.

He tried his but the battery was dead along with his hope of getting them to save him and Scorcher. The king told him once he took this path he would get no support from the guards or him, Marceline could slip past them with ease and help if only he had a chance to contact her. No food, water, or medical supplies and no way of climbing the ladder and crawling back up to the main floor. Finn's last resort was to rest and hope Scorcher didnt die before he could heal him some more.

Hearing the door they came in from open, he looked over as all of his energy left him causing him to pass out, but not before seeing Billy and his dad walking to them.

Billy the hero who fought the lich before the poor boy on the ground had somehow found him at this golden moment for the fire kingdom. Free from the infernal torment gang but at the cost of the city, they would celebrate and rejoice. Billy looked over at Scorcher then asked his best friend Josh. "Your son Finn has been helping this hitman, perhaps we should help him as well?"

Josh knelt next to his son and began to bandage up his cut wounds, whispering in his ear. "I know I might just be the worlds worst dad and that I pushed you and Jake to hard sometimes but...I'm proud of you two, your gonna do great things!" His voice was full of sincerity.

Billy bandaged Scorcher from the brown sack that they used for adventuring. "You struggle between right and wrong but you're still a good person... Espically if Finn is your friend." Billy picked him up and hunched him over his shoulder.

"Josh...We still have to get the tail..." Josh stood up and picked Finn up and did the same as Billy, reaching into his adventure pack he rummaged through the items inside until he felt the lich dragons tail. pulling it out he handed it over and pulled out a to-do list then stretched himself a thrid arm and crossed of a part of it "Get the tail of despair, check."

"He truly is an extraordinary human isnt he?" Billy asked. Josh went to pick up the family sword, once it was in his grasp he stared at it remembering how it was created. Then he thought back to when he first found Finn a helpless baby crying because he sat on his own... _Stuff _he smiled and said back "He was just a boom boom baby with a good set of lungs twelve years ago... But he grew up to become the hero this place needs... Plus all the other places in the universe."

They finished getting everything else of use and went back up the ladder leaving behind the three dead bodies for the king to deal with. Once outside the dungeon they sat Finn and Scorcher against the wall and laid there weapons down on there laps. Josh let out a sigh wishing he could spend more time with the boy.

Billy examined the tail. "Do you think he knew that this was needed? Or was it just luck?" Three lich dragon tails were needed to postpone the evil Lichs return to full power. A part of his energy was stored into each tail and without them being in his reach he would never be all powerful.

Josh looked at it too. "Probably just luck, you gotta remember this is just one of the many ways he could reach full power, think about his well, and putting a stop to his pets will do us no good if he finds the two books." Billy put the tail in his brown sack. "He wont try anything yet he is still to weak."

Josh shook his head. "But he is messing with Bonnibel's head even as we speak-" A guard was walking down the hallway about to turn the corner and find them. They ran the other way and snuck out of the fire kingdom thankful that there was nobody to get in there way. Josh whimpered to himself and billy told him. "You will see them again." As the two friends continued on to there next task.

What should the lone guard find the second he turned the corner that lead down another hallway and to the dungeons, A boy and the prince of the fire kingdom leaned up on the wall passed out. The guard dropped his spear and rushed towards them. "Bandages?" He said aloud in his rough grunt voice then scratched his head trying to piece together what happened. Then it hit him with widened eyes he realized that they had just beaten the deadliest murderers this kingdom has ever seen!

Running back the way he came he found another guard to help carry them up to the main floor. Once up top the king dismissed them but they just backed away not wanting to leave. Jake flipped out and tried to think of some clever way to wake them up. Flambo rubbed his hands together and made some smoke come out of them then he worked his magic and chanted heals ten times faster than Finn ever could.

Finn bolted up and exclaimed. "DAD!" as water got splashed in his face, looking up he saw Marceline with an empty glass and a surprised look. "Marceline! What the flip was that for?!"

She smiled awkwardly and said. "I thought it would wake you up..." Flambo growled. "Just be glad it didn't get on me." and continued to heal Scorcher. Finn was still trying to believe what he saw was real _Dad?..._ He looked at his arms and stared at the bandages. _It must have been, it has to be! _

Jake jumped on his lap and wrapped his arms around him thirty times laughing. "You did it bro! You saved the Fire kingdom! Flame princess would be so proud!" jake exclaimed, saying would so the king wouldn't suspect anything. Finn stood up and let go of jake beaming at all the citizens.

Scorcher bolted up like Finn and shouted out. "Kill him!" Then looked around and saw Finn smiling offering to help him up. Scorcher got back on his feet and the two of them thanked Flambo. A small girl somewhere in the crowd came up to Finn she had a couple of bruises on her face and some dirt, she looked like she was starving. _She can't be any older than seven! _Wearing a torn up solid brown dress she asked in a hoarse voice. "Did you stop the bad men who took my mama and dad away?"

He looked at her, this was the same girl who begged him for a coin. "Yes...The bad men are gone now..." He told her in a soft voice and asked where she lived. "I used to live in an apartment with my mom and daddy but some mean men told them to give them all our money,they said no and got pulled out the front door...I never saw them again, so I went to look for them but couldn't find them anywhere, and then when I went back home someone said that no one was allowed back inside. I live outside now."

Finn said. "You can live here in the castle, how does that sound little girl?" She grinned at him "Thank you! my name is penny." Finn asked her what her name was again almost dead certain she said penny. "My name is Amber."

The king cleared his throat. Finn quickly said. "Ok Amber do you see that floating lady over there?" He pointed to Marceline. "Shes my friend, you should say hi to her and the others." he pointed to Jake, Flambo, and the Ice king. She nodded and did what he told her to.

Finn turned around and gave his full undivided attention to the king. Scorcher walked over to the kings side, clearing his throat again he started. "Finn the human in honor of your service to my rule I hereby grant you the title Champion of the Fire Kingdom and one request of your choice!" He knew exactly what he wanted Finn spoke up. " All I want is for the whole land of OOO to still think im dead."

_Smart move hero _Marceline thought while listening to Amber talk about how grateful she is to have a friend like Finn. The fire king made sure everyone knew not to mention anything that happened here today then went back to the throne room with Scorcher behind him.

Jake told Finn about what happened while he was gone apprently the Cyclopes got up and tried to crush the castle but Marceline, the ice king and Jake managed to get the freezer Marceline had in her tent and put it in a catapult launching it at its head causing it to fall over leaving them a chance to use the bomb they had and kill it. Finn told them about what happened but kept quite about seeing Billy and their dad.

Night had fallen and everyone settled in a room and there was still spares to be filled. Finn showed Amber to hers and helped tuck her into bed.

"I want to take you to meet the cook tomorrow morning, he makes some of the best food in the whole world." She yawned thanks to him and feel asleep. _Poor girl... _He turned out the light and went back to his room. Unaware of the reaction he would get from Flame princess.


	11. The thief princess

Finn awoke in his favorite place, the never-ending darkness he found was the perfect spot to relax, be with his girl, and think without the worry of his friends questioning him whenever he stayed silent. _How will Flame react to her city being destroyed? I...Killed members of her family and almost let her brother die...Would he have made it if not for billy and my dad saving us at the last second?_

Running forward to the spark that Flame shown he noticed that she was much much closer to him than the last few times he visited her. With his heart full of joy he caught up to her and as always he hugged her. "Flame I-" She put her hands on his cheeks and kissed him. "I was so worried!" He stared at her dreading what he knew had to be said it was just over a thousand times harder than he ever would have imagined.

"This is only a small part of whats to come... I still have to stop that last dragon, then I've got to read the Antiridion and kill the Lich for good... I can't make any promises that I will come back, Bonnibel will want me alive so we can count on her up to a small point." Finn had the idea that he was breaking her heart when he told her this feeling like every word was a slap to the face.

She took it well... Not so well. "If you're gonna go off and risk your life every chance you get, then you better at least take three months off!" _What! three months?! I hope she's kidding... _The piercing glare she gave him already answered his question and he dared not ask.

"Do I make myself clear?" Her voice was calm and critical at the same time. Finn nodded in defeat hoping to get her to relax before she erupted. With a softened expression she added. "Your running yourself into the ground, let your wounds heal." Flame ran a finger across one of his wrapped up bandages and continued. "Try reading a few books, and above all have fun on your adventures."

She yawned. "But don't put you or our friends in danger. I'll be watching you." Her hand darted behind her and she pointed at his screen. Finn changed the subject. "Were you and Scorcher close?"

A bright smile formed on her face and the look she gave him was enough to make the Lich feel loved. "He was the best big brother a girl could ask for, he never tried to turn me evil like my father did, he would always visit me once a week and bring me back books and handheld video games that he found in his travels all over the world. The stories were my favorite."

Finn realized something that he never cared to notice until know. "I thought Scorcher never talked." Flame laughed. "Yeah he doesn't talk during his missions. Anyway the stories he told were the best, no matter how old I was they turned into bedtime stories." Flame blushed. "I fell asleep right after them...Everytime."

Finn held back the urge to laugh getting a clear image in his mind of her playing games and falling asleep, remembering the time they brought her candles and how peaceful she looked. Jake's older brother always played pranks on him some of them were rather rude but they never hurt him physically or emotionally. _Thats why Jake can out prank me. _

"I used to have a talking video game, he was awesome." Finn blurted out without thinking. She smiled and began to hum a song (What am I to you?) for a few minutes enjoying the time she spent with her boyfriend. curiosity got the better of him. "So..." He started and regretted even opening his mouth to begin with, but Flame encouraged him to say it. "Come on, spit it out champ, I wont get mad."

He doubted that but trusted her all the same. "Are you ok with what happened to the city?...and below the dungeons?" Trying to be as gentle as possible but feeling like he failed, he started fiddling his fingers but looked into her eyes with utter concern. Flame's smile wavered a little as Finn felt her warm hands grab ahold of his and put them together. She remained quite for what seemed like five minutes to him. _I shouldnt have opened my fat mouth! Now I hurt her AGAIN! _

"They would have killed my dad and brother, I'm not happy that they had to die but I'm not mad, as for the city it can be rebuilt." She hugged him as if to end the conversation. Walking over to the tv screens Finn trailed behind saying. "You know you can tell me if something is wrong right?"

She turned around and kissed him. "I appreciate that, but I'll be fine I just need..." Flame was distracted by the shape of his black bear hat. Not only was it ripped slightly in the back exposing his blond hair, but there was also a bump raised up on his head.

"What?" She ignored him and pulled his hat off revealing the rest of his blond hair it was messy from being tucked under the torn hat for so long. "Are you ok?" Without waiting for an answer she examined the back of his head, a big bump with blood surrounding it was found where Finn fell down. _This is exactly what im talking about!_

She put his hat back on him and sighed. "Have Scorcher check your head." While moving over to the tv screens and explaining what everyone was up to lately. Finn understood why Marceline was worried about her dad dying, he was a sickly shade of blue and even though he couldn't hear him Finn knew he was panting as he continued to write out the antiridion in a language they could understand.

Bubblegum threw Treetrunks and the pig in jail making him ponder a way to get them out _It might be a trap...But she would not expect Scorcher to save them a day after their imprisonment. A pretty safe mission compared to some of the ones he told me about. Maybe tunnel underground and come in from below? _

"I should bring up a screen for that Amber kid you helped seeing as you're gonna be spending the day getting her back on her feet." Flame put a hand next to the screen in the middle row on the left side and closed her eyes focusing on something. Finn was still clueless on how she did it but sat down with his arms around his knees wondering what would happen if they just fell through the pitch black darkness that surrounded them always.

Flame finished some time later snapping him out of his thoughts "There you have it." She stated proudly with her head held high. Standing up again he looked at the small girl sleeping "Awesome! But how do you do it?" He asked with a smile.

"I just try to imagine what they see, you know look at the world through their eyes. After that a screen appears and I can see them like I see you right now." Finn scratched his head. "That sounds tough, but if you can understand what they see you can see them?"

She nodded as a random screen popped up with death staring at the two lovers. He was just as surprised to see them as they were to see him. "My bad... I thought you were princess Bubblegum, what are you doing in the dream realm anyway?"

"Dream realm? Your saying all this is just a dream?" Finn spread out his arms and jestered all around. _It can't be..._

"No not a dream, you can only visit when you sleep, She is stuck here because I don't want her in the afterlife." He realized how rude he sounded. "No offense. Besides I think its your love that's keeping you here... You do love her right?" He asked Finn.

"Yes I do, stop asking dumb questions." _OK this is the dream realm I can only visit for so long until it changes to a different dream, but she's real enough here. Glob I hope there is a way to bring her back. _He pulled out the bag of ashes and stared thinking about Bubblegums experiments on the dead.

"You said that you were gonna talk to Bonnibel?" He questioned while putting the ashes back in his shirt pocket.

"Yeah my man peppermint butler asked and mentioned something about the Lich getting into Bubblegum's head... peppermint, that guy has some guts to keep working for a girl with something like _that_ inside her but I can't help there."

Finn looked at Flame. "You don't think..." _No that's impossible the ice king froze her and caused her to fall over forcing the lich out of her body there is no way he could have kept even the smallest piece of himself inside her. _Visions of the skeletons he raised without effort appeared in his mind _Peebles what has he done to you?_

Flame gulped and hugged her troubled boyfriend. "Dont worry, soon we will know how to stop the Lich and save Bubblegum if that is the case."

"But what if she made a deal with the Lich to become immortal?" Finn wanted to face Bonnibel, he wanted the truth but knew that would create more problems than solve.

"We'll figure something out, just try to take it easy for a while." She turned to Death's screen. "How did you mistake me for Bubblegum?"

"You were the most recent person she killed, I messed up and landed here." Finn cut in. "Will you stay in touch?"

Death laughed. "Hell yeah I'll stay in touch, do you know how rare it is to find people in the dream realm... I hate that name so much."

Finn and Flame smiled. "What?" Death asked confused as he scratched his shiny skull. "Change the name to never-ending darkness, its pretty self-explanatory." Death snapped his fingers. "Perfect!" His watch beeped which was his que to go. They all said their goodbyes.

Marceline burst into Finn's room and fell against the side of the wall. "Is she drunk?" They watched her screen as she stumbled over to the dresser in the corner of the room and put a radio on it. She laughed out of nowhere " Finn, Finn, Finny, Finn, Finn." Marceline fell on her knees and started to drink something from a glass bottle. _She must be trying that hard stuff that Scorcher kept me away from. _He appreciated him doing so as he watched how bad it jacked Marceline up.

She crawled over to his sleeping body and started to pat his cheek. Finn slapped her hand but his sleeping body didn't move an inch, as if she felt it she backed off and stood back up. He had no idea how upset Flame was about Marc until he saw her watery eyes fill with tears and her body begin to light up like the sun.

"Dont cry Flame!" He was unsure what he should say to make her feel better. Trying to hug her, she pushed him away.

Turning her back to him she closed the screens and sobbed. "Can I be alone for a while?" Her natural red-orange color heating up changing her to a blue flamed version of herself. Gulping hard he said. "Of course Flame." Walking the other way he looked back at her every few minutes only to see her trembling on the ground in a curled up ball.

After a few extra minutes Flame princess was nowhere to be seen, disappointed with himself Finn fell over and landed on his back with a thud wishing he really would fall through the darkness. _How could I have let this go on for so long... Poor Flame, having to watch me and Marceline joke and smile at each other. _He decided that it was time to tell her that she was being _too _friendly.

_Scorcher should ask her out. He brought it up before we went to the hideout... But Marceline saved my life... She bought me that belt, I would have left me dagger behind if not for her..._

"Globdammit!" He bellowed out in rage and pounded his fist on the invisible ground. _I should be happy, I just found out my dad is alive immediately after I saved an entire kingdom. Marceline's dad is translating the Antiridion and we finally have a real shot at fighting the Lich!_

These thoughts seemed to ease his worries but he saw no way to end this without killing Bonnibel and it scared him to think that he would be willing to kill her and feel nothing but hate afterwards.

_Am I the evil one? _He stood up and forced that dumb idea out of his mind. Running forward he knew Flame would be fine given enough time _She is strong. _He reassured himself and grinned not knowing what would happen next but was dead certain it led to his next adventure.

* * *

***Meanwhile in the Candy Kingdom***

A small girl sat in a wooden chair, she was in a waiting room with the lights out eating a huge tray of sweets. It reminded her of her entire life, quite, dark, but with less treats and nothing to steal.

Her name was Penny and she liked to think of herself as the thief princess even though there was not a drop of royal blood coursing through her vains. Some kids her age would be afraid of the dark but to her it offered safety and privacy.

In the city of thieves rumors of a shadow stealing EVERYONES possessions went around. It was true and that shadow was Penny. But now she sat losing her patients with some stuck up royal bitch with pink hair who threatened to end her life if she did not bow.

She was not so scary in Penny's eyes if anything she seemed like she was in a lot of pain. That was not her problem, her only priority was keeping herself alive which was more than enough trouble without adding the attention of armed guards coming up offering a ride to some castle she barely even heard of.

"Any day now _sweetcheeks_!" The shout echoed in the room and the guard standing by the door shifted uncomfortably. Penny popped a chocolate chip cookie in her mouth and continued to throw insults out in the open.

She was grateful for the candy and did not really mean the things she said but thought it would be the quickest way to get princess Bubblegum to come back and tell her what she wants.

Apparently from what the guards told her along the way here, this princess could give her a whole new way to steal stuff while traveling the sea with a crew. Bonnibel would turn this shadow of a girl into a pirate lord, at first she thought it was way to much work having to command a crew, but the more she thought the more she liked the idea.

"I can find a cove and make it my hideout, have a new home and find a way to be rid of the crew when I'm done. But first I gotta make sure we find treasure and get some stable ground or water in this case." Penny mumbled under her breath.

Bonnibel was rushing down the hallway that led to the waiting room in a furious mood. First Death refused to meet with her in the afterlife so they had to talk over a screen, then when she asked Death to harvest the souls of Finn's friends and allies he yelled at her and ended the meeting.

Even worse she did not have the chance to ask about Billy and Josh. Now she had to deal with this filthy urchin who was the master thief. Peppermint Butler followed behind as always, he was happy that Death stood up to her. The door opened and light flooded throughout the room forcing Penny to shut her eyes.

"Good day... _Thief princess_!" Bubblegum greeted coldly. "What do you want?" Penny cut to the chase not wanting to stay, munching on a blueberry muffin innocently.

Bubblegum pushed the tray down the table and threw down a thick folder that was labeled **Black List. **Penny raised an eyebrow. "What? Did someone steal something of yours?" As she reached for the folder the first thing in it was a picture of Finn on the top left side and a full description of his personality.

She looked at Bonnibel in surprise. "He is dangerous!" Remembering the time she made him mad by stealing a chest and how he scared her with weapons.

Bubblegum glared which Penny took as a sign to keep going, next was Marceline with her picture in the same spot as Finn's. Then Jake, Scorcher, Flambo, the Ice king, and finally Flame Princess who had a skull and crossbones stamped on her picture.

Penny gulped. "What do you need me for?" This job could very well get her killed and for what? A ship, a crew... A new life... At least she had a choice in the matter, or so she thought.

Bubblegum cleared her throat, she could no longer rely on Jake to get her the Antiridion after that video. "I need you to steal quite a few things." She stated bluntly.

"First a book labeled the Antiridion, I'm sure the word is too big for your tiny mind to comprehend." Bonnibel insulted and handed her another picture. This one was a picture of the book.

"Then I need a DNA sample of all the people, meaning a single hair, a fingernail, preferably blood if possible." Her voice hinted that Penny could not do that last part.

"Will a cash reward be added to this ship deal?" Penny asked trying to hide her uneasiness at the discovery of her job.

"You will get a ship and crew, new clothes and an old treasure map, do not push your luck with me!" Bonnibel threatened. Then she got in Penny's face and closed her eyes for a good while. Penny looked at her like she was a freak, then her eyes opened but they were dead and green.

The room became cold and the guard shifted again thinking about how he should get paid more for having to deal with little kids.

Penny found herself shivering within seconds and those dead eyes piercing her soul and filling her head with nightmarish images. All she cared about now was making it stop before she threw up.

"Heed my words well slave!" It was the Lich's voice speaking through Bonnibel. "Should you fail this task your life will be mine and your soul forever tormented!"

Penny nodded then scooped up the folder and pictures and ran out of the room as fast as her legs would carry her. Peppermint butler sighed again. _How much farther will you go Lich? _The answer was obvious, soon the Candy Kingdom would suffer his princesses wrath.

They all left the room, Peppermint still could not shake the thought of the kingdom falling victim to the Lich. _We need to prepare..._

* * *

**A.N: Ok sorry again for another late update but me and my associate have been arguing about a MAJOR plot point that will drastically change the outcome of the entire story, we sorted it out and can finally continue on.**


	12. The king's plan

Finn woke up to find a hyper Amber bouncing on his bed. He sat up and smiled at her. "Yay! Finns up!" She cheered and gave him a quick hug then hopped off the bed. It took him a minute to notice everyone else was in his room as well. Marceline was holding Scorcher's hand _Wow that was fast, and I know how that feels._ Finn thought as he stared at the new couple and Marceline's burnt up hand, she did not seem to care at all about the pain.

Jake, Flambo, and the Ice king were over by the dresser where the radio Marceline left him sat. They had been talking about the city and how re-construction was going a lot quicker than any of them could have guessed. Finn decided that now was the best time to tell them everything.

They were all here because of something, maybe to let him know about the king, or maybe just to check up on him. Finn cleared his throat making everyone stop what they were doing and give him their full attention. Twenty minutes of explaining everything later they all found every bit of it mind-boggling.

Jake seemed even more surprised that their dad was alive than Finn. Marceline was disappointed that her own dad had gotten worse. Flambo was extremely impressed with Finn finding a translator for the Antiridion. Scorcher was very happy to know that his little sister Flame princess was doing great in the never-ending darkness. What shocked them was how the Ice king reacted to the discovery of Bonnibel and the Lich.

"Oh..." He was sad and not the kind of sad he felt everyday, more like the down right miserable kind, it reminded Finn of the way he felt after Flame died.

_Never thought Id feel this bad for the Ice King... _Finn looked at Scorcher the man who tried to kill him twice. _Then again me and Scorch are close friends- _Finn felt his black shorts being tugged at snapping him out of his thoughts.

Amber was rocking on her heels anxious about how today would start. Finn examined her and found a lot more bruises on her arms and legs.

"First things first." He said to her in a calm caring voice, then began to chant in the Ancient fire language and heal her.

"How does that feel?" He asked. She giggled in response and looked at where the bruises were. "It tickled!"

Scorcher had a black bag slung over his shoulder, Finn only just now realized it as he pulled out the objects and handed them out to everyone except Finn.

"Everybody got one?" Scorcher asked as they all nodded in unison looking at their new cameras.

"what are they for?" Finn asked.

"Taking pictures." The Ice King stated smartly.

_Well no shit! But why do they have them? _Marceline bumped Scorcher's arm causing hers to sizzle a little.

He gave her a questioning look then remembered. "Oh yeah Princess!" He reached down in the bag again and pulled out a small robot video-game. "Got a special one for you." He handed it over.

"B.M.O.?" Finn turned the power button on and waited for the tiny robot to start-up. Its screen flashed and B.M.O.'s pixel face stared at him.

"It is good to see that you are alive and well Finn the...Hybrid!" Something was off with robot. He seemed to be less kid like and more serious. Jake saw a color wheel added on the middle of him and stretched his hand out to start poking the digital touch pad.

B.M.O smacked his hand away but it was too late Jake managed to screw up the color settings Making the letters that spelled B.M.O's name change from black to white and his body color was now a violet purple shade.

"You can switch colors like Lady Rainicorn now!" Jake laughed at purple B.M.O, Finn started to play with the wheel and gave his body a deep blue and name a metal silver color.

B.M.O ran away from them and saw his new look in the mirror. "I like this one..." A message that said saving appeared on his screen and a percentage bar was slowly inching its way to one hundred percent.

Scorcher tapped Finn on the shoulder. "I need to talk to you about operation LichGum." He whispered so no one would hear him.

_LichGum? What the hell? _Finn nodded and asked Marceline if she would run a bath for Amber. It turns out that people in the Fire Kingdom use boiling hot water to take showers with. _Even if it does not kill them it stills has to hurt bad, but I guess that is why a lot of people here study the healing spells of the ancient fire language. No wonder everyone is evil!_

Marceline agreed and took Amber's hand leading her to the bathroom. Jake was still talking with the others, Finn slipped out of the room with Scorcher behind him.

"Ok what do you need?" Finn questioned ready to say no if he asked him to do some recon in the Candy Kingdom or something Bubblegum related.

"First we, meaning my Father, Flambo, and I have reason to believe Lich worshipers were working with the Infernal Torment gang."

Finn cut in. "That would explain the Lich dragon... and maybe the Cyclopes. But what were they doing here? Trying to kill me?" Finn scratched his head and knew he had to start studying soon like he promised Flame Princess.

"I would assume, since you fought the Lich and have come in contact with both the Enchiridion and Antiridion. But you already know about the Lich's army right?" Scorcher's voice hinted that he actually cared about Finn's safety.

_He is acting like Jake, I guess he really appreciates what I helped him do under the dungeons. _"Do you mean the skeletons he raises from the dead?"

Scorcher shook his head. "Yeah that's just a part of it though. He has cultists, and robots that require a soul to control them. The cultists are responsible for magic and sacrificing theirselves to create things like the dragon and Cyclopes." He shivered as he spoke about what the army alone was capable of.

Finn found it disturbing too. "Why havent the robots shown themselves?" _The skeletons are the ground troops, unless he brings birds back to life as well, it sounds like the cultists hide. But robots? Kinda hard to believe._

"The Lich feared he might one day fall and shut them down in an unknown location. Anyway back to operation LichGum. It may be possible that he has taken full control of her, that might explain why my sister-"

"I know all that. The real problem is how to stop them, IF and this is a really big IF, what if ever since the Lich first entered her body he just stuck around in there and waited for the right moment to control her?" There was hope in his voice.

Scorcher sighed heavily. "The Ice king damaged him enough to make him find another host. There is a rumor that he fled to the body of a snail, The Lich could have easily returned to Bonnibel after that. We think he waited for her to find the Antiridion and through that book he controled her."

Before Finn could speak he added. "It was hidden in a mansion, the one that a prank was pulled on you, She had it for months and in that time the Lich took over. I went there myself and found a note written by Billy saying that it was full of evil."

Finn felt dizzy. "Why do you need me?"

Scorcher sensed his worry and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry to tell you all of this, I just don't want to make things any harder for you. Marceline told me about your relationship with Bonnibel. Then Flame passed away and now all this. I'm sorry Finn..."

Finn knew he was trying to help him understand that there really was no way to save Bonnibel, and Finn couldn't help but feel like Scorcher was treating him like a brother. He felt like he was talking to Jake.

He looked up at Scorcher whose arm was still on his shoulder. With a smile and brightened mood Finn said. "Thank you for trusting me."

A flash a white blinding light filled the hallway. Looking by the door they both saw Marceline who had just now taken a picture of them.

* * *

***Meanwhile in the Candy Kingdom***

Princess Bubblegum managed to get in contact with the Lich by clawing her way deep inside her own mind. It was torturous work but it paid off after several exhausting hours. Her imagination controled everything around her.

They meet at Finn's treehouse but the tree was dead along with the ground that surrounded it. All of Finn and Jake's belongings had been stained with blood and scattered on the grey landscape. No bodies could be seen but in the far off distance the world was ablaze.

The Sky was a greenish-Ice blue shade and souls were flying in huge thick groups like water flowing down a mountain. Rain poured down and violent winds sent chills up Bubblegum's spine, she ran for cover once hail pelted down on her head.

Once under the tree she heard the laugh that would signal the Lich coming for her.

"You are very brave my favorite slave. I don't take kindly to intruders." His voice was full of amusement. Bubblegum blinked and the Lich was in her face.

Bubblegum was used to this kind of stuff and glared at him while crossing her arms. "You're the one that demanded I come here! Something to do with the Antiridion no doubt!"

The Lich snorted causing a large gust of wind to shoot past them which just added more power to the already strong winds that threatened to knock Bubblegum down. "I am stuck in this body of yours because you lost both books! Time and time again you tried to recover them but to no success!"

He began to walk in circles examining Bubblegum and her body language. "That little brat Penny will get the DNA samples and then I can create clones of Finn and his five friends. Death was a no-go but this plan will work! I know it will!"

The Lich smacked her upside the head and snapped. "While your making these pathetic clones what will Finn be doing? He will train get stronger, mature, raise awareness of my returning, gain more support other than the Fire Kingdom!"

Bubblegum did not know what to say at first then it hit her. "We need to increase our army! You returning to full power will be worthless if you don't have the support to stop Finn, Billy, and the others!"

The Lich nodded then raised his arm and made two piles of bones appear in front of her. "Agony and Despair are gone forever. Night Terror my oldest and strongest dragon is the only one left." His voice held no sorrow for his pets deaths.

"Billy and Josh, that pestering dog have their tails and are now hunting for the last one. With all three destroyed I will not be able to return until much later. My well is gone too... Meaning these books ar my last chance."

Bubblegum started to tremble. Did she want the Lich to come back? Every part of her body screamed yes but the tiniest part of her heart wanted Finn to succeed in bringing him down.

_I will not let this mere boy stop me again! _The Lich looked at bubblegum. "Bonnibel I have a task for you."

* * *

***Meanwhile with Penny***

Penny stayed at an inn overnight. One of the benefits of being young was no one ever suspected the innocent looking little kid to be the pickpocket of some unfortunate rich dude. The innkeeper came in and asked how she slept.

Penny shook her head. "Not to good... You?" The world outside looked dark and rain clouds were rolling in. The chatter of people could be heard going about their daily lives.

The innkeeper dropped her eyes looking at the wooden floor. "I've had better nights." She raised her head to see the little girl sitting up with the blanket wrapped around her.

She hummed in deep thought then asked. "What brings a kid like you here of all places? After all the Candy Kingdom is only a thirty minute walk from this humble town. Or are you just coming from there?"

Penny was a silver-tongued liar. She had to be in order to survive, but this would be one of the most honest lies she told. "I have a lot of friends in the Fire Kingdom. I'm even friends with princess Bubblegum, she asked me to send a message to my friends in the Fire Kingdom."

_Can I really call Finn my friend after everything I've done to him? Not to mention I don't even know who these other people are... Save for Jake. _Penny stood up and got out of bed.

The innkeeper was sweet but not to bright, she didn't bother to ask about the Fire Kingdom or even question if Penny had even meet princess Bubblegum. She went back to her desk when the door opened.

Penny reached under her fluffy pillow and recovered the folder, bag of gold (That she stole), and picture of the book. Thanking the lady as she walked out the door to continue traveling to... Wherever the Fire Kingdom might be.

Ten minutes later rain started to pour down. _Great this is just gonna trip me up! _She found shelter under a huge tree a little ways off of the main road. Rustling could be heard in the bush next to her. _Just an animal. _

It happened again. Not taking any chances Penny pulled out her black dagger and slowly moved away from the bush. "Who is there?" She demanded.

The bush talked back. "Who? Why no other than..." A figure wearing all yellow jumped out and set fireworks off from out of nowhere. "THE MAGIC MAN!"

Penny gasped and fell back dropping her weapon. The magic man laughed. "What brings a snot-nosed brat like yourself to my hang out spot!?" He offered a hand to help her up.

* * *

***Back in the Fire Kingdom***

The king sat on his throne a hand on his chin another holding up an amulet made of gold with the Fire Kingdom symbol on it. "In four years time my wild hybrid shall become my obedient champion. The Candy Kingdom will fall and so will Finn." He laughed knowing full well that he could get Finn killed and bring him back to life.

The amulet was full of evil and had the power to brainwash the person wearing it. One of the kings favorite things to do was kill and of course he would take Finn's life. Sure he needed Finn but he could kill him and bring him back merely for his defiance over the Antiridion.

"For now... Let the boy have his fun. Once he turns eighteen the world will be mine." An evil grin formed on the king's face.


	13. LichGum's army

"Hold still." Scorcher demanded while pulling off Finn's black bear hat. His messy blond hair got in his eyes making it harder for him to study from the science book that rested on his lap. Of course the fact that everyone in the Fire Kingdom temporarily lived in the castle did not provide much silence which added another distraction. Amber sat in the back of the room playing a fighting game against B.M.O while eating her third meat-ball sub. Finn personally thought that this check-up with Dr. Scorcher was unneccessary, but there are some things that the ancient fire language cant heal. He needed stitches on his head from a nasty spilt he received when his head slammed on the stone floor yesterday.

The stench of blood filled the room neither Amber or Scorcher found it repulsive, they were probably used to it by now. Finn hated it and did his best to write down words that he didn't know. _Punnett Squares, DNA, RNA, Lipids... Bubblegum probably learned all this years ago... Amino Acids, pH Scale, Nucleus... _The list went on and it became more tedious when Scorcher bent his head down to get a better view of the wound.

"You shouldnt have had to be the one to go down there princess. I really didn't want you to get hurt..." He cut off some of his hair and began to sterilize the skin around the split. _I don't care what my dad says! He WONT kill this boy as long as im here! _

Finn laughed remembering the one time Scorcher called him by name. "You said my actually name down th-" A needle was poked in his head and he felt a strange stinging sensation _Ok, fine Ill shut up! _Marceline burst through the door at the worst possible timing, Flambo followed trying to get her sober again.

"SCORCHY! LET THE KIDS PLAY THEIR GAMES AND COME CHECK OUT THIS AWESOME SHRINE ON A MOUNTAIN TOP I FOUND!" She was floating upside down while playing an air guitar even though her base had been sheathed on her back. Amber giggled and quickly dodged B.M.O.'s button combo attack. The mountain she was talking about was the one that the Lich Dragon Despair was resurrected on. Fire King acted quickly and restored order, picking up the pieces of the carnage from the previous day. With those efforts the mountain was found.

Scorcher tried to speed it up before Marceline screwed something up. "I didn't know she was a drunk." Finn whispered but her keen vampire senses heard him loud and clear.

"WHAT!" Her hazy vision spinning right side up slowly progressing its way towards Finn. _Time to_ t_each this dweeb some manners! _With axe drawn she fell face first on the floor from the unbalanced weight. Scorcher finished and rapped his head up with a bandage.

"Finn dont." He warned and saw him set the book down with a mischievous grin on Finn's face. The video-game noises stopped, Amber enjoyed the show with B.M.O. sitting on her lap. Finn waited for Marc to get up and attempt to swing at him, she did and he quickly sidestepped the attack. The axe fell out of her hand and Finn grabbed her arms pinning them against her back. He tickled her exposed ribcage causing her to laugh and fall into Scorcher knocking all three of them to the ground.

Flambo chanted something to make her sober again and a split second later the room erupted with more laughter. They almost didn't recognize the white flash coming from Ice King's camera. "I'm sorry Finn!" Marceline laughed out and tried to catch her breath.

Once things calmed down Scorcher had everyone leave so he could tend to Finn's other wounds. (Which were still healing.) "Why?" Marceline groaned. "I wanna see that shrine with you before the king blows it off the map!"

"Trust me im a doctor." He teased. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Hmmm... Alright but don't take too long." She poked his forehead and looked at all the bandages on Finn.

"I promise we'll see it once im done here." That seemed to get her to go.

"Ok, but if you're lying i'll suck the red out of your body." She replied sweetly and floated out of the room.

_How did they get together? _Finn wondered and asked.

"Last night she decided to celebrate our victory. I found her messing around in your room drunk as can be."

"That really upset Flame princess. She turned blue literally!" Finn explained bitterly. _I hope she's fine now._

"She wanted to leave you a radio and a bunch of albums to some kick ass bands. You should listen to them while you study it makes it more fun." Scorcher removed his old gouse and healed some of the more minor cuts and bruises. "Gotta love that ancient fire language. Anyway I got Marc out of your room and sober then out of nowhere she burst into tears and poured her heart out to me."

Finn looked at him in shock. "That doesnt sound like Marceline at all."

He shrugged. "After that she showed me some of her favorite places outside the kingdom. One thing led to another and we just got together."

_Hopefully she will stop flirting with me now. _a few more small cuts fully healed. "Do you love her?"

He stopped. "I think so. We seem to be really happy and have a lot in common. There is defiantly something about her... Take off your vest and let me see that hole in your stomach."

Finn did as he said and felt completely uncomfortable. "Its healing a little quicker now." He put his shirt back on thankful that he would eventually make a full recovery.

"By the way... That kid Amber... She's hiding something, her parents were kidnapped and she managed to survive alone outside for that long with nothing but a hoarse voice, a few bruises, and a little dirt on her face?"

"She was a beggar remember?" _But then again I could have sworn that she said her name was Penny... Was she somehow friends with Penny?_

Scorcher sighed. "That could have been a cover up. honestly how many people here do you think would have given her money? The rich are greedy, the middle class fear that they would lose what they had, and the poor had nothing to give. YOU were probably the only person to give her a coin."

Finn gave him his stupid face. "I still don't see how that was a cover up."

"She only had a little dirt on her face. That means she had some form of shelter. There was bruises on her, she would not inflict pain on herself so she must have hunted in the woods. How many small girls do you know can do all of this?"

Finn explained Penny to him and how he thought Amber called herself that. "Maybe I can talk to her. Shes a sweet girl who hasnt done a thing wrong."

"That we know of." Scorcher stated critically. He finished wrapping his wounds with fresh bandages and covered them with tegaderm. Finn thought it looked like Saran wrap. "Here." He caught a shower cap.

Pointing across from the hospital bed he explained. "Your old clothes are in that bathroom over there. Once you get the smell of blood off of you put your black vest and other armor in this laundry basket. Dont worry about your black hat it will be fixed by tomorrow. I have to go before Marceline does you know what."

Finn nodded and entered the bathroom. As he opened that door to leave Scorcher vaguely heard him say. "Please close my screen for a few minutes Flame." The same thing repeated in Scorcher's mind on his way to Marc. _I will protect Finn! I will protect Finn! I will protect Finn! _He refused to let his dad do what Bonnibel did to his sister.

* * *

***Meanwhile in the Candy Kingdom***

"Are you sure you want me to be in charge of the kingdom while you are away princess?" As always Peppermint Butler rushed behind Bubblegum. She huffed out in rage. "FOR THE LAST TIME YES! YES YOU WILL RULE THE KINGDOM FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS!" She would not tell him why she had to go so urgently. As she hopped on her giant bird the Morrow's back without taking anything with her except a candy cane sword. Another second later and she was gone, he could not believe it she really left just like that and would not be back for two golden days. "THIS IS PERFECT!" he cheered and hopped up and down.

In the dungeon Treetrunks and the pig waited anxiously for one of their animal friends to bring them back the key to their escape. "Can we trust Arrow to bring it to us?" The pig asked Treetrunks.

"He's an old friend of mine back in the war times between Rainicorns and dogs." Treetrunks did not fight in that war but she did support the dogs by cooking her homemade dinners and baking apple pies for them. It was a huge morale booster for the dogs.

About thirty minutes later the entrance door opened and Peppermint walked over to them right as a red bird perched himself on the window and walked in-between the wooden bars with an apple held by the stem in his beak.

The pig leaped up and grabbed it. "Thank you Arrow I promise I'll make you an apple pie when I get the chance." Treetrunks reassured him as the pig devoured the apple and gave her the seeds.

The bird ruffled his feathers and stated shortly. "You better! Do you know how stupid I looked carrying that thing around?" Before they responded he flew off.

"Planning something?" Peppermint joked and was about to unlock the cell door when the pig told him to stop. Treetrunks dug a hole between two bars and buried a seed then went to their water trough and filled her trunk with water.

"What-" He was cut off as she sprayed water on top of the fresh dirt and an apple tree shot up obliterating the cell wall. "Thats one way to do it!" Peppermint exclaimed his mind completely blown by what happened.

"My **special apples **never fail." She said proudly. "Sorry Peppermint but we have to go save Finn!" They rushed past him.

"WAIT!" They turned around. "Wont you at least stay long enough to hear my speech?" He told them about Bubblegum leaving for a couple of days and his idea to fill the kingdom in on the truth.

* * *

***Back in the Fire Kingdom***

"So...Finn matured pretty fast didn't he?" Marceline asked and brushed some of the dirt off of a stone with some of the same markings in the Antiridion. _This was where that cute little dragon came from? _Scorcher knelt next to her and messed with the stone by tracing the symbols with his finger. "Yeah he did, and his body will soon catch up to his heart. But I think its great that he wants to study."

She looked at him and smiled. "You really do care about him." Marceline gave him a quick hug so as not to burn herself then stood up and flicked a skull that had been posted on a bloody pike. _I need to visit my dad and see how much longer until we can read that Lich book._

* * *

***Meanwhile with Bonnibel***

Wind rushed past her face as Bubblegum traveled to the isolated town that Billy grew up in. There she would reactivate the Lich's robots and begin to assemble some of their army to fight back against Finn's.

_Maybe I should use those failed undead cures that LSP, Rainicorn, Finn and Jake came up with on my subjects? _She ran new military ideas through her head and a lot of them seemed cost efficient and perfect for experiments. _This war is coming and both of us will be ready! _She had a few flashes of battlegrounds and war zones along with certain people on the ground in pools of their own blood.

_I did not want it to come to this but Finn has forced my hand! _Soon a village came into view it was humble but fortified well enough and as the Lich said it was isolated.


	14. What was that place?

**A.N: Hope you guys like Breaking Benjamin because this chapter has the song Dance with the devil in it. I do not own the lyrics to this song or title, band name, or Adventure Time etc. You know the deal :P**

* * *

Rain poured down on top of their heads as Penny and the magic man sat on the wet grass. As good of a liar she was the magic man saw right through it. a clap of thunder struck causing the shivering girl to jump and almost choke on the fruit that the strange man laid down before her. Penny sneezed and looked up at tree branches that did very little to block the downpour.

"So!" The magic man exclaimed while crushing a grape with his fingers. "You were sent to get your tiny mits dirtier than they already are by stealing blood samples of that human boy and his friends?" He popped the grape in his mouth and shot it out at a nearby tree. Penny looked at where it impacted and saw a clean hole that went straight through it. _Wow! I better not make this guy mad! _She nodded.

"You also said that this boy is a sissy do-gooder who has saved the world and countless innocent lives?" Penny nodded again.

"Perfect! Count me in!" _Is this freak serious!? _

"Lets go to the Fire Kingdom!" He stood up and grabbed ahold of Penny as if she were a toy and sat her down on his shoulder.

* * *

***Meanwhile with Flame Princess* **

"NO!" She shouted out in frustration and anger. The screens of the king, Scorcher, Bubblegum, and Flambo had been disrupted. _How am I gonna help Finn now!? _Fireballs shot out of her body in every direction. _CALM DOWN DAMMIT! I can still see Finn, Jake, Marceline, the ice king, Amber, and Hunson Abadeer! _She took a few deep breaths and started pacing back and forth. The sound of her footsteps amplified as they made contact with the invisible floor. The noise was soothing and helped keep her fire under control.

_Ha! Bubblegum can eat it! I can control myself! _She smirked at the thought of Bonnibel seeing her kiss Finn. _Finn... Poor Finn, I still havent told him about the Fire Well... _The Fire Well was of course a well full of fire but it looked like water. Flame princess's ancestors created it with the ancient Fire language. They believed in second chances and gave the well the power to bring a fire elemental back to life. unfortunately it only worked on the royal bloodline meaning only her, Scorcher, the king, and...Finn could come back.

Flame did not tell Finn about this because she managed to bring a screen of him up while he was unconscience for nine months. _I'm far more usefull here than out there where I will only get in Finn's way. I might get mad and make it all the more harder for him to work. _

She looked at Marceline's dad (Hunson Abadeer) and he was still writing out the book. _He is in so much pain... _Her color changed to blue for a split second than back again to its natural shade.

"Be safe my love..." She stared at Finn's screen and continued to worry about how much more danger he was in now that she could not see what her father was planning. _Scorcher loves him like a brother, that much is obvious. Flambo reminds me of B.M.O. and seems to be cool with Finn... My father though..._

"Be safe..."

* * *

***Meanwhile in the Fire Kingdom***

Finn felt naked in his normal clothes, they did not provide the same sword proof qualities that his magic black cloth armor did. He sat at his computer with Jake at his side. Amber and B.M.O. Continued to play their games. Flambo was having a heated debate with the Ice King about who's magic powers were more useful in battle.

Scorcher had to go hit someone in lumpy space, Marceline went with him.

"Dude check this out." Finn pointed to an x-ray of a candy citizen made out of bubblegum it was not princess Bubblegum. But a tall stick of pink gum wearing his wrapper as pants and a shirt.

"It says here that candy people made out of bubblegum bleed pure vanilla extract." _I wonder what it tastes like? _An image of him knocking Bonnibel to the ground and cutting her cheek formed in his mind then he brought the blade up to his mouth and licked it. _WHAT THE LUMP BRAIN! NO! WHAT THE ACTUAL LUMP!_

"Bro are you ok!?" Jake slapped him across the face.

Finn looked at him in surprise. "What happened!?"

"You started to flip out and scream. Your body was shaking and you had this pyshcotic grin on your face!" Jake examined his eyes.

"Did Scorcher give you something you're allergic to?" He asked in a panicked voice and stretched his arm out to Flambo.

He hopped on Jake's hand and the others waited with concerned faces.

"Is he gonna be alright!?" Jake's hand was now in front of Finn's head with Flambo standing on it.

"Relax Jake. Making a fuss over it is not helping anybody." Flambo spent the next ten minutes reassuring Jake that Scorcher did not do anything to harm Finn.

"Im fine really I am. Besides I trust Scorcher." He turned back to the computer and closed out what he was doing. "Its all yours Jake." Finn got up and laid down on his bed. _I need to start studying again soon. _

Jake did his best to get over what just happened. As he checked his E-Mail he received a message from the Candy Kingdom. Peppermint Butler sent it to him in hopes of him, Finn, and the others coming over while Bubblegum was away. Jake jumped up right as Scorcher and Marceline came in.

Marceline was busy licking her...Claws clean of red blood.

"Perfect timing guys!" He explained the message and before he could finish half of them were already out the door with Finn leading the way. _Awesome! Now I can see Lady Rainicorn and my daughter Jane!_

Scorcher had one reason to go other than Marceline wanting him to. _Time to deactivate those giant gumball machines!_

Finn and B.M.O. wanted to see their old friends again.

Amber told them that she always wanted to _see_ the candy sidewalks.

The Ice King just went with the crowd.

Flambo had to make sure Scorcher didn't screw something up.

They were the biggest group of nuts you would ever see. Hard to believe that a human, a magical dog, a vampire, a hitman, an ice wizard, a child, a video game, and a magical cat (A.K.A. Flambits), are the best the universe has to offer to fight the Lich. They were like one big crazy family of well armed lunatics and Finn loved every second he spent with them.

* * *

***Meanwhile in the Candy Kingdom***

Peppermint and Rainicorn entered the vault of riches hidden even further underground than the dungeons. It was similar to Finn and Jake's living room with mountains of gold coins and other treasures scattered everywhere.

"Please wait here lady while I get the choker." Peppermint requested as he walked to the far back side of the room. It turns out that Bubblegum found a magic choker that had the same effects as the collar that changed Rainicorn's voice to that of an old man. He thought it prudent to make sure that everyone understood what she was saying.

Shifting his way through the maze like pattern the coins made and almost stumbling on a large pile of diamonds he soon found the treasure he was looking for. A silver choker with a set of multicolored buttons on it. He picked it up off the gems it rested on and noted that it stretched.

Fooling with the settings as he slowly inched his way back to Rainicorn he could hear Jane laughing.

"Here you are lady." The choker slid over her head and shrunk to a comfortable size around her neck. It was set to english.

"How do you feel?"

She smiled at him and jokingly said. "I never liked skin-tight accessories." Her voice was still the exact same. "Thank you." She looked at Jane and made a funny face causing her to laugh even more.

Back in front of the castle steps the citizens of the town gathered and talked with each other. Treetrunks, the pig, Cinnamon Bun, Scotchy, and Doctor Princess stood somewhere in the back.

"I still can't believe Finn managed to live after that monster destroyed his home!" Doctor princess cleaned her glasses and continued. "He must have had an amazing **Doctor **treating his wounds!"

The others agreed and began to wonder what was so urgent that they all had to hear it at once.

* * *

***Meanwhile with Bonnibel***

_Me and Billy grew up here._ If she was surprised she hid it well. Bubblegum dismounted the Morrow and ordered it to stay put. _Did you now? Is it important that I know this? _She heard the Lich laugh that ice cold dead laugh that always made her hair stand on end. _If you had read the Antiridion you would know so much more! _Bubblegum snorted and stared at the village that was a little ways ahead. All of the buildings were made out of wood and stone. Two stone towers sat on both sides of the entrance.

A guard was stationed inside each tower with a bow ready to fire at any given second. On the ground a gatekeeper stood watch with a sword and shield resting on his back. In his right hand he held a spear. His shiny breastplate and iron leggings glistened in the sun. As she walked up to him she noticed the mans eyes were green like the Lich's but not evil or dead looking and his nose was a blue gem like Billy's. His skin was grey and his arms bulky.

"HALT!" The gatekeeper raised his hand for her to stop. "State your business here or turn back this instant!"

Bonnibel glared at him and had the urge to draw her candy cane sword. _Diplomacy... _She inhaled deeply and started. "My name is Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum current ruler of the Candy Kingdom. I have traveled to this remote village in hopes of refuge from the coming storm." She patted the hilt of her weapon. "It's for self-defense."

The gatekeeper stared at her for a minute then let her through.

_Glob I need a cup of coffee. _The change of scenery did not brighten her mood and everything about these peasant buildings made her heart long to be back inside her castle. Wind kicked up against her causing a cloud of dust from the dirt road to fly in her face. coughing and blinking hard a unfamilier voice somewhere to her right could be heard laughing.

She turned with her cold glare following. The last person she expected to see was leaning on a building waving at her with an enlarged hand. A yellow dog older than Jake grinned at her. He was missing some teeth and had dark-colored eyebrows. He also seemed a tiny bit flabier than Jake.

"Who the-" _IS THAT JOSHUA?! _The Lich demanded. _KILL THAT DOG! _Bonnibel sighed _Fine but let me get a drink first._

The Lich stayed silent as the dog walked up to her and to her disapproval hugged her. "Sorry, but I have no idea who you are." She pushed him back a little.

"Oh! My bad! I'm Jake's older brother! My name is Jermaine-" Bubblegum tuned him out after a few seconds. Pointless word after word came out of his mouth. _Man this guy is more annoying than LSP! _

He gave her a tour of the village. there was not much to be impressed with except a statue of a young redhaired Billy raising his sword up about to bring it down on a collapsed Lich who was trying to counter with a potent green fireball. The floor was made of gold. Billy's sword was crafted out of fine silver. The Lich had emeralds for eyes, and every little detail and color matched their true appearance.

_Wow... This has been going on for years?! Billy and Finn have the upper hand... For now... _"Yo!" Jermaine shook her out of her trance forcing her gaze off of the beautiful work of art, she stumbled with her words. "H-How di- did you guys acquire such a marble?" Her voice held no hate or contempt but instead curiosity and a sincere appreciation for the magnificent statue before her.

Jermaine scratched the back of his head. "The Cosmic Owl dropped it off to the men who founded this village he said quote _Sup guys, Glob sent me to give you this gift. Take it for what its worth and beware of the future. _That is just the tip of the iceberg though. the entire story is told in a book called the Antiridion."

_Maybe I should have tried harder to decipher it... _Instead of asking about it she shrugged so attention would not be raised. "Can I get a cup of coffee around here?" Glancing at the nearby structures she could not see anything that even slightly resembled a café. No real shops stood, but there was a clinic and inn neither of which looked very inviting.

"We can get some inside the inn." He stretched his hand to the entrance quite a few feet away and knocked on the door then brought his arm back and pretended like he did not do anything. The door opened and the innkeeper stepped out. A tall brunette with her hair in a ponytail crossed her arms and smiled at him. She looked like the gatekeeper and wore a white button up collared shirt along with a black short skirt.

"Again Jermaine?" She strolled her way to him with a look Bonnibel knew all to well. The look of love, Finn gave her that same look for years and now the last time he had it, it was with Flame Princess.

Bubblegum turned away as they started making out. She saw of in the distance a rock cave with pillars holding it up. _There they rest. Get your damn coffee then go reactivate them. _

"This is Ashlen." they had their arms wrapped around each other. "Nice to meet you." Bubblegum extended her hand and Ashlen gladly shook it.

They all went inside the inn and Ashlen got them a table. It was better than the outside made it look. Polished wood floors, sturdy chairs, clean round tables, lanterns strung up on chains that hung above their heads. It had a bar as well as a second floor with six beds. The windows would have had a nice view if there was something more than a river and flat grassland to look at.

"Two coffees." Ashlen sat a glass platter down with two coffee mugs, sugar packets, creamer, and spoons down on their table. "Finally." She said with gratitude and took a sip.

"So... How has Jake been." Bubblegum nearly choked on her drink as a sudden shock filled her body for a split second. "Jake!... He's doing good. Had a baby girl named Jane with Lady Rainicorn and-" The next hour was spent talking about family and what _might _have happened to Finn after he disappeared in the storm.

"I'm so sorry that your mother Margeret passed away. Sickness gets the better of all of us..." She said softly. _Ok I have no idea if she could fight but her being dead must have had some emotional toll on Joshua._

He sighed. "Listen keep this under your hat but my dad is alive. He faked his and moms deaths to protect Finn and Jake from getting involved with the Lich battle." _and now your mom really is dead..._

_ENOUGH! Get your ass to that cave and do as I command! _That got her to jump up out of her seat. "I'm going to explore a bit. Poor Ashlen looks so lonely over there all by herself." Jermaine saw what she meant. Ashlen sat behind the bar with a down right miserable face.

"Catch you later." He made his way over to her. Bonnibel hurried outside it was a lot darker now and thunder clouds were slowly making their way over the village. _Why rush? Were you the outcast of this village? _She regretted saying that. _SILANCE YOU WORM! _He took control of her and forced her to slap herself. All of the villagers she passed gave her questioning looks. They all reminded her so much of Billy and the Lich. It was easy to see what he meant when he said him and Billy grew up here.

rain drops slowly came down and it was even darker now. _The Morrow is gonna be pissed. _Outside of the village the pillars seemed bigger now and the mouth of the cave more grand looking. Stairs led down to the square room with tiles and five large robots. Nothing else worth mentioning in the cave. Bonnibel noticed a lantern was already lit. The robots had rust all over them and it was too dark to examine them in detail.

_Behind you._ She turned around to see an angry Jermaine. He glared hard at her and had a sword at the ready. "So it is true! You want to revive the Lich!" He spit at her feet.

"I don't want that! But I will become immortal and if this is what it takes than so be it!" _Penny better get those samples. I have something special planned for my Finn clone._

He was growling now and about to attack. wrapping her hand around the hilt of her candy cane sword she drew it and got in a stance. She trained three hours a day for nine months straight. The Lich helped her out after all if she dies so does he. Sure he could go to someone elses body IF he had the strength which he did not.

He charged after her thinking that she had no idea what she was doing. It was a nasty shock for him when she effortlessly side-stepped him and jabbed his hand forcing the sword out of his hand and into hers. _MY TURN. _The Lich made his green fireballs appear around her hands then launched them at the dog's feet.

A loud explosion followed by a yelp could be heard miles away. Jermaine flew out of the cave and fell close to the village. He got up and saw a cloud of smoke coming out of it. A figure came out next and the rain was now a down pour with thunder and lightning raging along with the strongest gusts of wind possible.

He gulped hard and backed up a little. all of the guards came to his side as did the gate-keeper and the archers. Even a few of the local residents came up with weapons at the ready. Of course Jermaine was their star knight and they did whatever he said without so much as a second thought.

Ashlen snuck into the crowd with her lance. "LISTEN EVERYBODY! THAT WOMEN IS WORKING WITH THE LICH!"

"WE MUST NOT ALLOW HER TO REACTIVATE THOSE ROBOTS!" There was no time to give a speech. Another moment later and they all charged.

**Here I stand, helpless and left for dead**

Jermaine led the assault. Changing his shape to one that resembled a wolf showing off sharp teeth. He didnt need a weapon, those only slowed him down anyway. His prey was now a few feet away and seemed..._ Bored?! _Rain whipped his face while the wind made it harder for him to see her clearly. Somewhere behind him the group was screaming their battle cries. She ducked her head as an arrow zoomed by missing her by half an inch.

**Close your eyes, so many days go by**  
**Easy to find what's wrong**  
**Harder to find what's right**

_Damn she's fast! _Springing his feet up off the ground and pouncing with fangs and claws ready to tear her to shreds, he more than expected her to dodge it with ease. Instead she simply waited until the last second to shift to the side and bring one of the swords up in an attempt to cut his ribs. It would have worked if not for him shrinking before the blade made contact.

**I believe in you**  
**I can show you that I can see right through**  
**All your empty lies, I won't stay long**  
**In this world so wrong**

Being tiny was risky but she would not be able to see him so well in the dark. Plus she now focused on the mob that overtook her. The gatekeeper nearly rammed his spear through her chest but again she shifted as if dancing the steps of battle. The spearhead was chopped off by a clean slice from a red and white blur that could only be a candy cane sword.

It mattered little as he threw the useless stick at her and tried to draw his own sword and shield a great pain in his stomach stopped him. Looking down the weapon pierced his armor and blood began to seep out from the blade. Falling to the ground he felt the sword being violently yanked out of him and a few seconds later his heart stopped beating. At this point all the others had caught up to them and now surrounded Bonnibel with pointy and blunt instruments. A lot more arrows came down with the rain and the wind made a few misplaced shots causing some of the unprotected villagers to collapse.

**Say goodbye,**  
**As we dance with the devil tonight**  
**Don't you dare look at him in the eye**  
**As we dance with the devil tonight**

Jermaine managed to sneak up on the back of her neck... But something was wrong, he could smell a potent acid and felt heat resignating from her. A crowd of thirty or so troops and villagers brought there tools (another word for weapons from what I've heard.) up and were about to beat, slash, and smash her. Jermaine jumped off of her and grew back to his normal size and tried to warn the others to back away. But it was too late the whispers of the Lich could be heard inside and outside of everyone's heads.

Bonnibel had green fireballs in her hands again but this time it was more than just her hands. Her shoulders, head and arms were also on fire. That acid Jermaine smelled caught on fire. _That has to be some sort of chemical Bonnibel came up with. Still it works well with the Lich's powers. _Everyone else was trying to recover including Ashlen.

On one of the rooftops a goblin with a crossbow was freaking out. _Great! First that stupid hitman dude sends me and the goblin army off with rockets and some one-eyed monster to destroy a kid and his treehouse! Then I come here and find some pink demon with green fire! _That was his final thought as one of the fireballs came his way and annihilated him. The same happened with the other archers.

**Trembling, crawling across my skin**  
**Feeding your cold, dead eyes**  
**Stealing the life of mine**

Many of the ground troops found their courage again and rushed Bonnibel but before they caught up to her she was in the village. She could hear the Lich laughing _Ha! Ha! Ha! Divide and Conquer Bonnibel! Divide and Conquer!_She couldn't help but laugh with him. Jermaine ran to his girlfriend who just got back on her feet. "How many of us are left?!" He demanded in a panicked voice. "I saw about ten people run to the village chasing after her!"

_Lets pray to Glob that the other villagers are safe! _"Stay here and help these men out!" She nodded as he ran to the village. Ashlen wasted no time and looked around at the men on the ground some had burns some had been shot by misfired arrows and others were rolling around trying to get the voice out of their heads.

**I believe in you**  
**I can show you that I can see right through**  
**All your empty lies, I won't last long**  
**In this world so wrong**

_I'm sorry dad but I don't think I can stop the Lich! _Smoke came up from some of the buildings making Jermaine and the others cough. Ashes and rain mixed giving them all a sense of hopelessness. An ice-cold laugh echoed throughout the fallen village. "Get to the statue!" He barked the order and they followed without a second thought crossing their minds. More buildings were on fire and sweat formed on their foreheads. "Get into defensive position we make our final stand here!" He gazed up at the statue staring at Billy with his raised sword. "Glob save us." He mumbled under his breath.

"Look over there!" Billy finished off another Lich worshipper and pointed in the direction of the storm. Joshua was making a sandwich with extra pickles on it. They set up camp on a hill where as a nice bonus they found a Lich worshippers base and quickly put a stop to their operations.

"What?" As if on que lightning struck far of in the distance one after another. They saw the village on fire. _NO! JERMAINE! _The two quickly sprang into action but the time it would take to get there was at least thirty minutes if they hurried.

**Say goodbye,**  
**As we dance with the devil tonight**  
**Don't you dare look at him in the eye**  
**As we dance with the devil tonight**

A green fireball came from one of the orange fires that lit the night up. It impacted on the statues head causing Billy's part to crumble into nothing but colored rocks. Jermaine turned around and ducked as another one hit two of his men. "Show yourself you coward!" He screamed out in hatred. Unsure where she came up from he saw her walking towards them with both swords at the ready. The few who were still alive charged once more.

Jermaine threw a punch at her with an enlarged fist. That was a mistake the second it reached her, she managed to cut his fingers off and felt the sting of the acid that was about to wear off. He howled in pain _How can the Lich still have that much power._

_I grow weary of this Bonnibel. Kill them and get those robots working again. _She smiled and waited for the rest to attack. One of them swung a flail at her, she rolled under it and quickly jabbed him in the throat. The next few died by her quick reflexes and knowledge of science and logical thinking. That did little more than save her once or twice from a club or dagger.

**Hold on**  
**Hold on**

_They're dead now. _Bubblegum told him. _You still have two more to take care of. _Looking at the statue the two lovebirds Jermaine and Ashlen were talking fast. _Probably saying their goodbyes, and I love you and junk. _

"I'm so sorry the others..." Ashlen's voice cracked and she began crying "I couldn't save any of them!" Jermaine told her about his hand and how the acid infected his bloodstream. Already he was looking weak and pale. "I'll protected you!" she sobbed even though she did not believe those words herself.

**Say goodbye,**  
**As we dance with the devil tonight**  
**Don't you dare look at him in the eye**  
**As we dance with the devil tonight**

Glaring at Bubblegum. She grabbed her lance and gave Jermaine one last kiss. "Are you done yet." Bonnibel taunted and made it look like she was staring at a watch. _Take these two's souls and put them in two of the robots. _Ashlen pushed her attack forward and Bubblegum lazily humored her while talking to the Lich. _Then what? _She ducked under a thrust and quickly elbowed Ashlen in the stomach knocking the wind out of her.

_Then the souls of all these peasants will go into the other three and they will awaken. However those souls will not be enough. _She pushed Ashlen to the ground and brought one of the swords up to her neck. _Yet Ashlen's and Jermaine's will be?_

_Yes. At least for two of them. their souls are stronger than the common person. _Ashlen glared at her with hate as she jammed the tip into her neck. _And the other three? _The Lich laughed again. _Have you ever heard of a human in hiding named Susan Strong? Do you remember the Key-per and Mannish Man? _These three names intrigued Bubblegum and she knew their souls would fuel the other three robots. She kicked aside the lifeless body of Ashlen and made her way to Jermaine.

**Hold on**  
**Hold on**

He spat out dark blood and was violently coughing. Bonnibel loomed over him with an ice cold glare and said harshly. "It did not have to come to this." She spread her arms out and jestered at the dead bodies and all the burning buildings. "I would have simply reactivated the robots and been on my way!"

Jermaine weakly growled at her. "You wont win! My father will defeat you!" These words made her laugh. "Billy and Joshua are old has-beens." She poked him with one of the swords then finished him off.

_NOW! _The Lich took control and quickly sucked the souls out of the two. Bubblegum remembered Finn telling her about Hunson Abadeer doing something similar to this. Once they returned to the robots he spat the souls out and the rust on the closest two vanished. The robots colors were silver and black they had treads for legs. Their arms could change from rocket launchers to mechanical arms. The heads were flat like a computer screen. All in all they didn't look like much but the size told you otherwise.

_whats so special about them? _Their engines roared and they began to move around. Jets were attached to the backs. _They are not that great in combat but in large forces they can take over entire kingdoms with ease. Yes they can multiply in staggering numbers, Watch them carry these other three with no effort. _

The Lich commanded them to pick them up. They did so in a matter of seconds. He gave Bonnibel control of her body again _The rest is up to you. It will take me a couple of years to regain as much strength as I used today. DONT MAKE ME REGRET IT!_

Bubblegum made her way back to the Morrow who as she predicted was pissed about being left out in the rain for hours. "I know!" She protested. _Now to pay Susan Strong a visit._ The robots followed behind quickly as they rode away from the storm and burning village.

Billy and Joshua did not make it in time...

* * *

**A.N: Wow. Bubblegum is on a killing spree with the Lich, while Finn and his gang screw around in the Candy Kingdom. I had plenty of fun writing this chapter and I hope you guys liked the song (lyrics of course), again that was Dance with the Devil by Breaking Benjamin. I dont own the lyrics, song, name, band name, or Adventure Time etc.**


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